Drake took legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the label and Spotify of artificially boosting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.”
In a second pre-action filing in a Texas court, he also accused UMG of defamation. According to him, the label could have allegedly prevented the release of the song, in which Kendrick “falsely accuses him of being a sex offender.” UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” the lawsuit alleges, per Billboard. “But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.” Unsurprisingly, this latest move has earned mixed reactions. While some are siding with Drake, others like Stephen A Smith are not on board.