Drake has gone legal.! Drake accuses Universal Music Group of using deceptive practices to boost a ‘diss track’ ” NOT LIKE US by Lamar.
The biggest rap beef in history has transitioned from the industry to the courtroom. He has escalated the beef with Kendrick and accuses his very own record label of firing allies while boosting his rival. The filing accuses UMG, which has deals with both performers, of paying Spotify to recommend “Not Like Us” to users “who are searching for other unrelated songs and artists,” claiming the label also paid Apple to have Siri “purposely misdirect” users requesting songs from Drake’s catalog, serving up “Not Like Us” in its place. UMG’s ploy, the filing argues, created “the false impression that the Song was more popular than it was in reality.” Making matters even stickier, Drake says in the filing that UMG has tried to hide its alleged propping up of Lamar at Drake’s expense “by terminating employees associated with or perceived as having loyalty to Drake.”
According to the filing — a petition by Drake and his company, Frozen Moments LLC, asking the court to order UMG and Spotify to preserve all relevant documents and communications in advance of a pending lawsuit — UMG has so far “refused to engage” with Drake over the issue, instead pointing the finger at Lamar and telling Drake to sue Lamar, not UMG.
But a source from Drake’s camp said on Monday, shortly after the petition was filed in New York State Supreme Court, that Drake is upset with UMG’s allegedly shady business practices, not Lamar or his lyrics. (Drake has hit back at Lamar with his own tracks, calling the Compton rapper a domestic abuser and casting doubt on the paternity of his child.) Further, the source told The Independent, if Drake is successful at tamping down wrongdoing throughout the industry, the result could help protect other, less well-known artists from future exploitation.
