Drake has stepped up his legal battle against Universal Music Group, filing a defamation lawsuit over what he claims is a "false and malicious narrative" portraying him as a pedophile.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in federal court in New York and obtained by TMZ, targets the label for promoting Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us." According to the court documents, Drake argues that Universal Music Group was fully aware that the lyrics and visuals in the music video were both inaccurate and harmful.
In his lawsuit, Drake describes Lamar's track as filled with "inflammatory and shocking allegations," calling it a "gold mine" for Universal Music Group. He also argues that Universal Music Group had a financial motive to promote the song, aiming to damage his music and brand to gain leverage in future contract negotiations.
Drake claims he has evidence showing how far Universal Music Group went to turn Lamar's song into a hit. The lawsuit alleges that Universal Music Group paid a third party to use bots, boosting the song's streams by at least 30 million, and participated in a "pay for play" scheme with at least one radio promoter. He also accuses Universal Music Group of labeling the track a "chart-topper" despite knowing the data backing that claim was fraudulent.
In the lawsuit, he further accuses Universal Music Group of helping secure Lamar the Super Bowl halftime performance, so the song could be showcased at what he describes as "one of the most significant (and viewed) cultural events of the year."
In the suit, Drake states that it is "not about the artist who created 'Not Like Us'" but is "instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize" the song which he said knew contained false claims.
The filing comes after Drake filed a motion on Tuesday to drop a lawsuit against Universal Music Group and Spotify in New York state court.
The rapper filed that lawsuit against the music streamer and the record label last year, accusing them of colluding to promote one of Lamar's songs over his own, according to Newsweek.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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