Drake: Rapper sues Universal for defamation

Drake (38) has sued his own record label again. , the rapper reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group in a New York court on Wednesday (January 15). In it, he accuses the label of knowingly spreading the “false and malicious narrative” that he is a pedophile.

The rapper is talking about the diss track “Not Like Us” by his rap rival Kendrick Lamar (37), as TMZ reports. In the song, Lamar raps that Drake “likes ’em young” and that people should “hide their little sister from him.” It also says: “Certified Lover Boy? Certified Pedophile.”

In the lawsuit, Drake emphasizes that this is not about the artist who created “Not Like Us.” Instead, it’s “exclusively about the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and market the song.” Universal Music Group saw the diss track as a financial goldmine despite the “inflammatory and shocking allegations.”

It goes on to say that the label artificially pushed the track to devalue Drake’s brand, which would give them advantages in future negotiations. The musician, who signed a $400 million deal with UMG in 2022, claims to have evidence that his label used bots to increase the song’s streams by almost 30 million. The label is also said to have played a large role in getting Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show.

Drake also pointed out that his safety was threatened by the song and that several attempted break-ins and shootings had occurred outside his home.

Just yesterday, Tuesday (January 14th), Drake dropped a lawsuit filed two months ago against his label and Spotify – in which the artist accused the music giants of starting a campaign to manipulate streaming services and radio stations making the song “Not Like Us” go viral. The label had rejected the allegations.