Universal hit back at Drake’s claims in new lawsuit
Last year, Drake and Kendrick Lamar were at the focal point of hip-hop as they exchanged diss tracks. However, following the release of ‘Not Like Us,’ Drake’s reputation suffered and now, he’s filed a new legal suit concerning lyrics.
Still, unlike Jay-Z in 2001, after losing to Nas, Drizzy prolonged the battle. Far from recording a diss track or accepting the loss, the Toronto rapper strangely diverted his attention to his record label, Universal Music Group (UMG). Due to the phenomenon and popularity of ‘Not Like Us,’ the emcee suspected the industry may have used underhand tactics to boost the song’s exposure and, as such, launched an attack.
Last year, in late November, Drake filed two pre-action petitions in New York state’s Supreme Court alleging that UMG “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us,’ in order to make that song go viral, including by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements.” Furthermore, he accused the label of aiding defamation.
Although Universal released a statement in response to Drake shortly after the petitions were filed, he has now officially filed a lawsuit and the record label has turned the tables on Drake by highlighting that the financial and commercial success he has enjoyed over the years is primarily due to them and their actions.
Shortly after the Scorpion creator filed the petitions, droves of fans pointed out the hypocrisy, as many of the practices he is rallying against he has previously benefitted from. Universal Music Group is now too emphasising Drizzy’s somewhat ungrateful war on the record label. Furthermore, they are becoming much more militant in their wording.
UMG has insisted the ‘Hotline Bling’ rhymer’s claims are illogical, stating, “Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical. We have invested massively in his music, and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.”
They added, “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 about other artists.” However, they then went on to call out Drake for his recent actions.
Summarising the label’s perception of Drake’s pre-action filings, Universal told the courts, “He now seeks to weaponise the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”
UMG concluded, “We have not and do not engage in defamation — against any individual. At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.”