Drake Sues Longtime Label UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Drake sued his longtime label on Wednesday, accusing Universal Music Group of defamation for promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” saying the song’s false accusation that the Canadian rapper is a pedophile has put him and his family in danger. .

In a complaint in Manhattan federal court, Drake said the song was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile” and that the public should exercise “vigilant justice” in response.

Drake said that led to attempted burglaries at his home, prompting him to travel with extra security and withdraw his seven-year-old son from his Toronto elementary school and the Toronto area.

He and Lamar, an American rapper who won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2018, have been feuding for about a decade. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for defamation and harassment.

“UMG may spin this complaint as a rap beef gone legal, but this lawsuit is not about a war of words between artists,” according to the complaint by Drake, whose given name is Aubrey Drake Graham.

“Regardless of a relationship spanning more than a decade, UMG deliberately sought to make Drake a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse,” the complaint added. “UMG chose corporate greed over the safety and welfare of its artists.”

In a statement, UMG said it has not defamed anyone, called Drake’s claims untrue and said it would be illogical to damage his reputation after investing heavily to make him commercially and financially successful.

UMG also accused Drake of trying to “weaponize” the legal process seeking damages and trying to silence Lamar’s creative expression for “having done nothing but write a song.”

Lamar is not a defendant, although Drake called “Not Like Us” defamatory. Drake’s lawyers had no further comment.

COMPETITIVE ‘DISS’ TRACKS

Wednesday’s lawsuit follows a November petition in New York state court in which Drake, through his company Frozen Moments, accused UMG and Spotify of using payola and streaming bots to promote “Not Like Us” at the expense of his music.

Drake withdrew the petition Tuesday night. His related lawsuit against UMG and radio company iHeartMedia remains pending in a Texas court, online records show.

The feud between Drake and Lamar has played out in part through so-called “diss” tracks, including “Not Like Us.”

In the song, released last May 4, Lamar mentioned Drake by name, saying “Drake, I hear you like ’em young” and calling him and others “certified pedophiles.”

A day earlier, Drake released “Family Matters,” which appeared to accuse Lamar of physical abuse and infidelity, and questioned whether Lamar’s business partner was the father of one of his children.

“Not Like Us” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 for two weeks last year. It received five nominations at the Grammy Awards on February 2, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

The case is Graham v. UMG Recordings Inc, US District Court, Southern District of New York, no. 25-00399.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Diane Craft)