Drake makes demands to UMG boss over Kendrick Lamar recording contract
Drake is putting pressure on Universal Music Group boss Lucian Grainge in his defamation and harassment lawsuit against the label. In January, Drizzy sued UMG, accusing them of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists” regarding Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’.
The rapper’s legal team requests access to Grainge’s emails, texts, and Kendrick’s recording contract, claiming the CEO promoted the diss track.
His initial lawsuit said Universal “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 Digital Music News, his lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, claims Grainge is a key witness in the case, alleging UMG created additional hype at Drake’s expense that cost him opportunities.
“Plaintiff’s amended complaint contains numerous allegations specific to Grainge, including his role in and knowledge of the scheme to defame and harass plaintiff, and UMG’s use of deceptive business practices regarding the same,” Gottlieb said. “UMG’s insistence on shielding Grainge from document discovery is unfair, unwarranted, and inconsistent with fundamental principles of discovery.”
He continued, “If, as UMG claims, Grainge had ‘no meaningful involvement in the matters and decisions at issue in this litigation,’ then UMG will have little, if anything, to produce to plaintiff from his files, and the review process would impose minimal burden on UMG.”
They also request documents about Interscope’s profits, the value of Kendrick’s catalogue, and label CEO John Janick’s compensation.
‘Not Like Us‘ included allegations of paedophilia and sexual misconduct, which Drake has strongly denied. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won five Grammys.