Welp, after withdrawing his initial legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify, Drake is now suing UMG for spreading the “false and malicious narrative” that he’s a pedophile by releasing and promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” Listen, if I was Drake, I would also be very bothered by the fact that my nemesis was riding a career high after releasing a brutal diss track about me. “Not Like Us” is nominated for five Grammys: record of the year, song of the year, best rap song, best rap performance, and best music video. Not to mention, Kendrick’s set to perform at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime show, which is like, the biggest stage in the world.
And as we all know, the most memorable and shocking line in the song is: “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.” In Drake’s lawsuit, which was filed on January 15 in New York City, he claims UMG had financial motivations to boost the “inflammatory” pedophile narrative.
Here’s a breakdown of Drake’s response to the pedophile accusations and his lawsuit against Universal Music Group.
In the lawsuit, Drake accuses UMG of having “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 pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response,” per The New York Times.
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According to docs obtained by TMZ, the rapper says in his suit that the diss track is full of “inflammatory and shocking allegations” and was a “gold mine” for UMG. He believes that’s why the music company put so much effort into promoting it. Drake claims UMG pushed “Not Like Us” so hard because it would “devalue” his brand and give them leverage when it comes to future contract negotiations.
Apparently, Drake is saying that he has “bot receipts” that prove the label paid a third party for 30 million streams. He’s also accusing them of participating in a “pay for play” scheme with a radio promoter.
The “God’s Plan” rapper points out that the “Not Like Us” craze has had real-world consequences for him; there have been multiple shootings right by his Toronto home. During one of the shootings, Drake’s security guard was shot.
It’s notable that he’s suing UMG and not Kendrick. “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us’,” Drake says in the suit. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize” the song which it knew contained false claims.”
