The ongoing feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar takes another turn as fresh allegations emerge against Universal Music Group (UMG), suggesting they deliberately boosted the popularity of “Not Like Us” through questionable means.
Drake’s company Frozen Moments filed new documents in a Manhattan court on Monday, November 25, pointing fingers at the label’s alleged manipulation tactics.
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” Drake’s attorneys allege, according to Billboard. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
“Not Like Us” dropped on May 4, 2024, as Lamar’s response in their ongoing exchange of diss tracks. The song notably includes Lamar referring to Drake as a “certified pedophile.”
While this filing isn’t technically a lawsuit yet, it could pave the way for legal action. The document details how the music label supposedly worked with streaming platforms to execute their strategy.
“UMG … conspired with and paid currently unknown parties to use ‘bots’ to artificially inflate the spread of ‘Not Like Us’ and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it was in reality,” Drake’s lawyers say, alleging that UMG struck a deal with Spotify, lowering licensing fees in exchange for promoting the track.
The filing mentions Apple too, though not as a direct respondent.
“Online sources reported that when users asked Siri to play the album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ by Drake, Siri instead played ‘Not Like Us,’ which contains the lyric ‘certified pedophile,’ an allegation against Drake,” reads the filing.
According to the motion, “Drake has repeatedly sought to engage UMG in discussions to resolve the ongoing harm he has suffered as a result of UMG’s actions,” adding, “UMG refused to engage in negotiations, and insisted that UMG is not responsible for its own actions.”
UMG responded to the allegations in a statement, saying, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
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