The Canadian rapper filed a lawsuit against his own label accusing it of promoting the song Not Like Us by his rival, a song which according to him participates in a smear campaign.
Canadian rapper Drake maintains his legal conflict with American Kendrick Lamar by attacking their joint label Universal Music Group (UMG) for defamation on Wednesday, amid accusations of pedophilia. The two hip-hop stars have been rivals for years and released several vitriolic tracks in 2024 to criticize and attack each other, a classic practice of this cultural and musical genre.
The Canadian Aubrey Drake Graham, 38, had already accused UMG at the end of November of having inflated the listenings of the 37-year-old Californian Kendrick Lamar on the platforms and of having defamed him, in two proceedings in New York and Texas. These were not formal complaints but first procedural steps before possible legal action. This time, in a civil complaint before the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, Drake accuses Universal of « approved, published and launched a campaign to make “buzz” viral from a rap song ».
Also read
Drake accuses Universal and Spotify of inflating Kendrick Lamar’s listen numbers
This alleged smear campaign « aimed to raise false allegations that Drake was a child molester and suggested that the public would have to respond to them » by boycotting the Canadian, according to this complaint consulted by AFP. In the piece Not like usKendrick Lamar, winner of a prestigious Pulitzer Prize, accuses Drake of having relationships with underage girls and calls him a « pedophile ». The Canadian responds that their common record company has chosen « profit of the company on the safety and well-being of its artists ». He denounces the fact of having been the target of « physical threats » (gunshots had injured a security guard at his property in Toronto in May) and to be « bombarded by online harassment ».
Not like uswhich surpassed 900 million streams on Spotify, became one of the artist’s most popular tracks and received several nominations at the upcoming Grammy Awards, including Best Song of the Year. Kendrick Lamar was also chosen to perform the halftime concert of the Super Bowl, the final of the American football championship, at the beginning of February in New Orleans, an immense privilege for an artist in the United States. Universal Music Group promised in a press release « protect your employees and your reputation » and denied « any act of defamation » past and present.
