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Last Friday, Kendrick Lamar surprise-dropped his new album, GNX. He didn’t even have to include any of his Drake-disses from earlier this year – no “Meet the Grahams” or “Euphoria” or “Not Like Us.” All new music, and it’s all great. Funny, smart and already classic. I kind of thought “wacced out murals” would be the first single, but no – Kendrick surprise-dropped the music video for “squabble up” on Monday. Here you go:
I love this song. I enjoy the whole album, but this one is so much fun. The video is full of classic hip-hop references. I’m a big fan of Kendrick reading “How To Be More Like Kendrick for Dummies.” Great touch.
Concurrent to all of Kendrick’s awesomeness, Drake continues his downward spiral. Dude has not been the same since “Like That.” Dude definitely hasn’t been the same since those six days where Kendrick dropped four songs in a row. Over the weekend, Drake went on a white guy’s stream and tried to talk sh-t about Kendrick. People ended up clowning on Drake for his bald spot. But I never expected Drake to get this sad – he’s just filed a pseudo-lawsuit against UMG and Spotify over Kendrick’s “Not Like Us.” Dude turned into the biggest Canadian Karen ever when he lost a rap battle. Drake would like to speak to the manager!!
Drake has initiated legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify over allegations that the two companies conspired to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” In a filing Monday (Nov. 25) in Manhattan court, Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG of launching an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola and other methods to pump up Lamar’s song — a track that savagely attacked Drake amid an ongoing feud between the two stars.
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” attorneys for Drake’s company write. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
Drake’s attorneys accuse UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the federal “RICO” statute often used in criminal cases against organized crime. They also allege deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York state law.
The court filings are a remarkable twist in the high-profile beef between the two stars, which saw Drake and Kendrick exchange stinging diss tracks over a period of months earlier this year. That such a dispute would spill into business litigation seemed almost unthinkable in the world of hip-hop. It also represents a stunning rift between Drake and UMG, where the star has spent his entire career, first through signing a deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint, which was distributed by Republic Records, and then signing directly to Republic.
Lamar, meanwhile, has also spent his entire career associated with UMG, first through the TDE imprint, which was distributed by Interscope, and more recently through his own company pgLang, which he licenses through Interscope.
In technical terms, Monday’s filing is not yet a full lawsuit, but a so-called “pre-action” petition — a procedure under New York law that aims to secure information before filing a lawsuit. Spotify declined to comment. UMG did not immediately return a request for comment.
First of all, Drake is NOT suing Kendrick for all of the sh-t Kendrick said about him in the diss tracks. Drake is taking legal action because he doesn’t believe that people were organically streaming (and buying) Kendrick’s diss-songs like crazy. Like… “Not Like Us” was genuinely one of the biggest hits of the year. “Euphoria” is one of the best SONGS of the year. People were streaming those songs because they are awesome songs. Interestingly, Drake’s accusations are likely admissions – for years, people in the music industry have wondered (for YEARS) about Drake’s seemingly artificially inflated numbers. Drake is the one whose career has been inflated and hyper-managed by UMG.
A UMG rep responded to Drake’s legal action via Variety: “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.“ Basically, Drake is a sore-loser Canadian Karen who can’t cope with the fact that he lost a rap battle.
— The Anti-Ak (@rinnegoddess) November 25, 2024
Drake after hearing Not Like Us pic.twitter.com/d12JvjLARj
— kendrick Lyrics (@WordFromKdot) November 25, 2024
Drake throwing shots at Kendrick Lamar while on stream with xQC 👀
“You need facts to take me out, fairytales won't do it.” pic.twitter.com/Ehac7pW4La
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) November 25, 2024
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram, ‘Not Like Us’ video stills.
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