Drake Sues Universal Music Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

During a toxic back-and-forth barrage of diss tracks last year, rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar accused each other of fakeness, hypocrisy and abuse. But while fans hailed Lamar’s chart-topping single “Not Like Us” as a knockout punch, Drake saw the song’s punchlines invoking pedophilia as something far more insidious — and with real-world consequences.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court, the artist born Aubrey Drake Graham sued Universal Music Group, the label behind both rappers, for defamation and harassment, calling its publishing and promotion of “Not like us” an example of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of their artists.”

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Universal of “authorizing, publishing and launching a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap song” that was “intended to convey that specific, unmistakable and false factual allegations that Drake is a criminal pedophile and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.

The complaint notes that the cover art for “Not Like Us” features a photo of Drake’s home in Toronto, dotted with markers meant to represent the presence of registered sex offenders, and the complaint alleges a shooting at the residence days after the song’s release that injured a security guard — calling it “the 2024 equivalent of ‘Pizzagate'” — citing two other attempted break-ins in the days that followed.

The suit was filed on Drake’s behalf by Michael J. Gottlieb, a partner at the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who has previously represented the owner of the Washington pizzeria targeted by “Pizzagate” conspiracy theorists and the election workers falsely accused by Rudolph W. Giuliani for helping with a bogus scheme to steal the 2020 presidential election.

In a statement Wednesday, Universal Music Group called the allegations both untrue and “illogical” and pointed to its longstanding and successful business relationship with Drake.

“We have invested heavily in his music and our staff around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success,” the label said. “Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings for other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”

Universal added that it would fight the suit on its own behalf, as well as to protect “any artist who could directly or indirectly become the frivolous target of lawsuits for doing nothing but writing a song.”

In November, Drake had filed lawsuits against Universal in state court in New York and Texas, naming Spotify and radio conglomerate iHeartMedia as potential participants in an elaborate scheme to promote “Not Like Us” using bots and payola. On Tuesday, representatives for Drake withdrew the earlier filing in New York against Universal and Spotify in favor of the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. A hearing in the Texas case, which includes iHeartMedia, was delayed until later this month.

The long-standing tension between Drake and Lamar, who had collaborated early in their careers, exploded into full musical beef last spring across eight quickly released songs that included escalating personal attacks.

On one track, “Family Matters”, Drake questioned whether Lamar’s manager had secretly fathered one of his children and alleged that Lamar had “turned on” his romantic partner and covered it up. Shortly after, on “Meet the Grahams,” Lamar equated Drake with Harvey Weinstein, calling him a “pervert” and a “sick man” who “should die” to make the world safer for women.

The following day, Lamar released “Not Like Us,” which includes lyrics such as “say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young,” and called the rapper and his crew “certified pedophiles” who should be “registered and placed on neighborhood watch.”

The track — which, according to Drake’s lawsuit, “cleverly hides dangerous lyrics behind a catchy beat and inviting hook” — went on to top the Billboard singles chart and has since been streamed more than a billion times on Spotify alone. At the Grammy Awards next month, “Not Like Us” is nominated for five awards, including record and song of the year. The following week, Lamar will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans.

“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the suit reads. “Instead, it is all about UMG, the music company, that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize claims that it understood to be not only false, but dangerous.”

To prove defamation, a public figure must show not only that false information was published, broadcast or spoken, which damaged their reputation, but that the publisher did so while knowing the information was false or with substantial doubt as to its accuracy.

While Lamar may not have met that standard as a defendant — “this lawsuit is not about a war of words between artists,” the suit reiterates — it claims Universal would not have been in business with Drake since 2009 if it had reason to believe any sex-abuse allegations were true.

But as a potential motive for the company to aggressively promote “Not Like Us,” it cites contract negotiations between Universal and Lamar — who was under a short-term deal with the company that was extended late last year, according to the suit — as well as with Drake, whose contract to be renegotiated this year.

“By devaluing Drake’s music and brand, UMG would gain leverage to force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG,” the suit states.

Drake also accuses Universal of engaging in questionable practices to promote the song, as hinted at in the preliminary filings last year, which sought to obtain additional information and preserve relevant documentation related to a potential lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the record label “and its agents put a further thumb on the scale by covertly offering financial incentives to third parties to deceptively stream the recording on streaming platforms, play the recording on radio, and otherwise promote and endorse the Defamatory Material, all without ever disclosing the payments .”

After the incidents at his home, Drake tried to inform Universal of the damage the song caused, including having to remove his young son from his elementary school “due to safety concerns,” according to the lawsuit, but was told he “would face humiliation if he sued.”