Drake Files Massive Defamation Suit Against Universal Music Group Over ‘Not Like Us’: ‘UMG’s Greed Yielded Real World Consequences’

Drake’s much-publicized Universal Music Group (UMG) legal battle has officially reached a boiling point, as the artist has slapped the major label with a massive defamation lawsuit.

This shocking twist in the months-long dispute – centering on Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track – emerged just moments ago.

As we previously reported, Drake in November 2024 fired off several petitions, against UMG, Spotify, and more, alleging a multifaceted behind-the-scenes campaign to boost the popularity of “Not Like Us.”

On top of ultra-serious allegations of bot-fueled plays and payola, Drake emphasized the allegedly defamatory lyrics in “Not Like Us,” which debuted amid a well-documented rap beef involving him and Lamar.

Also as reported by DMN, Drake’s initial legal actions stopped short of launching full-fledged suits against UMG and others. Thus, when the relevant petitions were recently dialed back, logic suggested that Drake and the leading label may have arrived at some sort of resolution.

In reality, however, the ugly dispute has only intensified, with the comparatively tame petition against UMG making way for an 81-page lawsuit.

Digital Music News promptly obtained the expansive complaint, which Drake (not his company) submitted to a New York federal court against a lone defendant in UMG Recordings.

Opening with a quote from UMG head Lucian Grainge about the ease with which one’s reputation can be ruined, the firmly worded action dives directly into describing a series of attacks (one being a shooting that seriously injured a security guard) and break-in attempts at Drake’s Toronto home in the week following the release of “Not Like Us.”

(Drake also moved his child and mother from the city “entirely” due to safety concerns, the suit indicates.)

“In the two decades leading up to May of 2024,” the text proceeds, “although Drake was constantly in the public eye, nothing remotely like these events had ever happened to him or his family. But these events were not coincidental. They immediately followed, and were proximately caused by, UMG’s actions leading up to and on May 4, 2024.”

Unsurprisingly, those actions refer mainly to releasing Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which allegedly “falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.”

“Not Like Us” is allegedly defamatory because its lyrics, official image, and music video “all advance the false and malicious narrative that Drake is a pedophile,” per the suit.

Moreover, the suit, which doesn’t name Lamar as a defendant, is “entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”

As for the motivation behind the alleged scheme, Drake’s complaint points to the obvious elements (i.e., execs’ desire to cash in on the “gold mine” diss track at hand). However, Interscope also “owns Lamar’s entire back catalog,” the document states, and the former Top Dawg act Lamar had allegedly inked a short-term deal with UMG to gauge its ability to drive commercial results for his projects.

Plus, as Drake is nearing the end of his deal (extended in 2022) with the major, there’s allegedly ample incentive to “devalue” the artist’s own work.

“By devaluing Drake’s music and brand [through the aggressive promotion of ‘Not Like Us’], UMG would gain leverage to force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG,” the suit spells out.

Regarding the specifics of this alleged aggressive promotion, the action doubles down on the existing streaming-manipulation and payola claims.

Additionally, Universal Music allegedly “took the unprecedented step” of axing copyright restrictions for “Not Like Us” on YouTube and Twitch. This purported move was allegedly designed “to ensure content creators would republish it broadly.”

Worth noting in conclusion are some of UMG’s alleged comments to Drake, including alleged indications that if he sued, it “would respond by bringing claims against Kendrick Lamar.” Drake would then allegedly “face public ridicule for the perception that he had sued another rapper,” per the suit’s account of the purported remarks from UMG brass to Drake.

Besides defamation and defamation per se, Drake is suing Universal Music for harassment and a New York business law violation.