Rapper Drake has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the label of promoting rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track *Not Like Us* in a way that he claims incites false and harmful accusations.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges that UMG deliberately marketed and exploited the track, which Drake says falsely portrays him as a pedophile. He also accuses the label of ensuring Lamar headlines the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, where the track is expected to be performed.
Drake claims that the diss track, its music video, and its cover art—which allegedly shows his Toronto home marked with symbols resembling registered sex offenders—have incited threats against him. The rapper also points to a shooting incident at his home in May, which injured a security guard, as a direct result of the track’s promotion.
The lawsuit states that UMG prioritized profits over the safety of its artists and accuses the label of using bots and other methods to artificially inflate streams of *Not Like Us*.
“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the court filing reads. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize” the song.
The diss track has garnered over one billion streams on Spotify and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Record and Song of the Year.
The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar escalated in March when Lamar criticized both Drake and J. Cole in a feature on Metro Boomin’s track *Like That*.
Since then, the artists have traded diss tracks, including Drake’s *Push Ups* and *Taylor Made Freestyle*, followed by Lamar’s *Euphoria* and *6:16 in LA*. The feud reached a boiling point when Lamar released *Not Like Us*, which features lyrics accusing Drake of inappropriate behavior.
The diss track has been widely circulated and is expected to be part of Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance, a move Drake claims was orchestrated by UMG to maximize exposure.
This is not the first legal action Drake has taken regarding the diss track. In November, he filed a petition in state courts in New York and Texas, accusing UMG, Spotify, and iHeartRadio of inflating the track’s popularity through bots and payola schemes. That petition was recently withdrawn, with Drake opting to focus on federal court action solely against UMG.
A separate hearing regarding iHeartRadio and Spotify is scheduled for late January in Texas.
UMG has not commented on the lawsuit.
Source: the-sun.com
