Universal Music Group files motion to dismiss Drake’s defamation lawsuit
In January, Drake sued Universal Music Group for defamation over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ diss track. The Toronto rapper accused the company of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists” in a federal lawsuit with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Now, UMG has filed a motion to dismiss the suit. In the March 17th filing, the record label claims that Drake “encouraged” the beef with Kendrick and “goaded” him to respond when he felt he was taking too long to release a diss song.
The filing reads, “Plaintiff, one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated. Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds. Plaintiff’s Complaint is utterly without merit and should be dismissed with prejudice.”
The documents also stated, “Notably, less than three years ago, Drake himself signed a public petition criticising ‘the trend of prosecutors using artists’ creative expression against them’ by treating rap lyrics as literal fact.”
Drizzy’s suit claimed 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.”
The lawsuit brought up the cover art for ‘Not Like Us’, taking a photo of Drake’s home in Toronto with markers to show the presence of a registered sex offender. Days after the song dropped, a shooting took place at the residence, which resulted in the injury of a security guard. Two other people allegedly attempted to trespass.
Drake noted that the suit had nothing to do with Kendrick, instead placing blame on UMG. “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us’,” the documents state. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetise allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”