Drake names 63 possible witnesses in ‘Not Like Us’ lawsuit against UMG
Drake is continuing his legal battle against his label, Universal Music Group. The Toronto rapper has named 63 potential witnesses in his defamation lawsuit, related to the promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ diss track, which makes various claims about him.
Drizzy sued UMG in January. In a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, he accused the record label of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”
He said they “approved, published and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track” that was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal paedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.”
According to Billboard, Drake’s “initial disclosure” filing is dated June 2nd but was only made public on July 14th. It lists the names of people he believes could have evidence in his case.
In addition, he filed a motion to subpoena Kojo Asamoah, who he says was involved in paying bots to inflate streaming numbers for ‘Not Like Us’.
‘Not Like Us‘ was released in the middle of Drake’s beef with Kendrick, in which he was accused of paedophilia and sexual misconduct. K. Dot’s lyrics include, “I hear you like ’em young” and “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.”
As part of the evidence discovery, those named could be asked to hand over documents to Drake’s legal team.
UMG recently said that Kendrick’s lyrics were “hyperbole in the tradition of rap beefing,” simply serving as artistic expression in hip-hop. They added, “What you hear in these rap battles is trash-talking in the extreme, and it is not, and should not be treated as, statements of fact.”