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Drake is suing his own label, Universal Music Group. The 38-year-old rapper is hitting the label with a lawsuit for spreading the “false and malicious narrative” he’s a pedophile, TMZ reports. He reportedly filed the defamation case Wednesday morning (January 15) in federal court in New York City, putting UMG on blast for releasing and promoting Kendrick Lamar‘s hit diss track, “Not Like Us.” Keep reading to find out more… Drake claims in the suit that UMG knew Kendrick‘s lyrics and music video imagery, referring to Drake as a pedophile, were false and dangerous. He referred to the song as having “inflammatory and shocking allegations,” calling it a “gold mine” for UMG and claims that his label intentionally wanted to promote “Not Like Us” and devalue his own music and brand for future leverage in contract negotiations. Drake‘s last UMG contract signed in 2022 was worth a reported $400 million. According to the suit, UMG paid a third party to use bots to increase the song’s streams by at least 30 million and engaged in a “pay for play” scheme with at least one radio promoter. Drake claims UMG was also involved in getting Kendrick the upcoming 2025 Super Bowl halftime show so the song could be performed on that massive stage, calling it “one of the most significant (and viewed) cultural events of the year.” “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us.’ It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize” the song, the suit reads. Drake also said that since Kendrick dropped the song there have been multiple shootings at or near his Toronto mansion, including one of his security guards getting shot.
