Despite a briefly held assumption that things may be cooling down on the legal front when it comes to Drake‘s allegations over Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” diss, we now know that no such thing is afoot.
As first reported by TMZ on Wednesday, the 6 god has now brought a full-fledged defamation case against Universal Music Group over the track. Docs initially cited by the publication and later viewed by Complex see Drake’s legal team arguing that UMG was indeed aware of the content of the diss track’s lyrics, marking a return to claims previously made in one of two pre-action petitions.
In short, Drake’s team is alleging that financial gain, not to mention potential contract talks, were the main push behind UMG promoting the track, which is up for Best Rap Song at this year’s Grammys.
The 81-page doc, filed in New York court and listing UMG Recordings as the sole defendant, opens with a quote from Lucian Grainge, longtime UMG CEO. From there, a May 2024 incident said to have involved “an armed group of assailants” at Drake’s Toronto residence is detailed, as well as another incident that same month in which an intruder “used his bare hands to dig a hole under the security fence” surrounding the residence.
Complex has reached out to reps for Drake’s legal team for comment, as well as to UMG. This story may be updated.
The news comes after word that Drake was withdrawing a pre-action petition in connection with the Kendrick hit, one of two such petitions he had filed toward the tail end of 2024. As detailed here by Shawn Setaro, neither of those filings were actual lawsuits, though each was considered a potential precursor to exactly that.
The defamation-centered argument being employed by Drake’s legal team stems from key lyrics in the song in question. In “Not Like Us,” which topped Complex’s ranking of the best songs of 2024, Kendrick raps, “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.” He also mocks Drake’s Certified Lover Boy era and questions those allegedly in his circle, like so: “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.”
Despite being widely considered to have lost last year’s news-dominating rap war, Drake, undeniably, was certainly no slouch in 2024. “Family Matters,” a Kendrick diss complete with an official video featuring a GKMC-esque van being crushed, landed at No. 3 on Complex’s annual ranking. He also saw one of his 100 Gigs cuts, “Circadian Rhythm,” coming in at No. 32, besting tracks from The Weeknd and J. Cole.
This story is being updated.
View news Source: https://www.complex.com/music/a/tracewilliamcowen/drake-umg-lawsuit-defamation