Drake is accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) of defamation in a second legal action against the music giant over Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss track “Not Like Us.”
The Canadian rapper, born Aubrey Drake Graham, filed this second complaint late Monday (Nov. 25) in Bexar County, Texas, slamming UMG for failing to prevent the release of “Not Like Us.”
Billboard published the 14-page legal document on its website Tuesday (Nov. 26).
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UMG distributes both Drake and Kendrick’s music. But the way Drake sees it, the company should have prevented the release of Kendrick’s megahit because it “falsely” accuses the “Take Care” rapper of being a “sex offender” and child predator.
“Specifically, the song calls Drake a ‘certified pedophile,’ a ‘predator,’ and someone whose name should ‘be registered and placed on neighborhood watch,'” the filing states.
The filing claims instead of protecting Drake, UMG took part in an alleged “pay-to-play scheme” to promote the single on the radio. It also says iHeartRadio stations may have been involved in the scheme, although Drake admits he’s been “unable to confirm” that claim.
Drake, 38, fired this latest legal salvo just hours after he filed a “pre-action” petition in Manhattan — as part of a procedure under New York law that aims to secure information before filing a lawsuit.
In the first petition, the rapper claimed UMG conspired to use Spotify to artificially boost sales and airplay for “Not Like Us.”
According to Billboard, the document states UMG “engaged in conduct designed to artificially inflate the popularity of ‘Not Like Us’… including by licensing the song at drastically reduced rates to Spotify and using ‘bots’ to generate the false impression that the song was more popular than it was in reality.”
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The legal action also alleged that “UMG appears to have used similar tactics with other streaming services. On information and belief, UMG paid, or approved payments to, Apple Inc. to have its voice-activated digital assistant ‘Siri’ purposely misdirect users to ‘Not Like Us.’”
Drake’s attorneys claim UMG violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act — a federal law that aims to eliminate organized crime and racketeering in the United States.
In response to the petition, UMG slammed Drake for making “offensive” accusations.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” a rep for the company said. “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns.”
The rep went on to diss Drake, saying: “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.”
So far, Compton native Kendrick is staying out of the legal wrangling.
Last summer, Drake and Kendrick unleashed a string of diss tracks with accusations about secret children, plastic surgery, domestic violence and allegations about underage girls.
The insults came via a playlist that included “Push Ups,” “Taylor Made Freestyle,” “Euphoria,” “6:16 In LA,” “Family Matters,” “Meet The Grahams,” “The Heart Part 6,” and of course “Not Like Us.”
Anita Bennett contributed to this report.
