“Unraveling the Controversy: Why Drake’s Lawsuit Against His Own Label Could Shake the Entire Music Industry”
Added on February 10, 2025 inMusic News Cards
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In the ever-evolving landscape of hip-hop, where beefs are as common as, say, release parties, you might wonder: why would Drake, the self-proclaimed king of the game, decide to throw his own record label under the bus instead of responding directly to Kendrick Lamar’s explosive diss track ‘Not Like Us’? The aftermath of the Grammy-winning song has the internet buzzing. With Lamar’s fiery Super Bowl performance pushing this feud back into the spotlight, Drake has turned his sights on Universal Music Group (UMG) for a lawsuit, citing defamation and claims of manipulated streaming numbers. As fans speculate about the implications of this legal drama, it raises some serious questions about artistry, accountability, and the complex dynamics between artists and the corporate giants that represent them. What’s really at stake here? To navigate through the layers of this unfolding saga, just click the link—it’s a wild ride! LEARN MORE.
Here is the reason why Drake is suing his own record label instead of Kendrick Lamar over the latter’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’.
Drake is currently locked in pretty intense rap beef with Lamar, with a series of diss tracks culminating in the release of Grammy award winning song ‘Not Like Us’ last year.
The track throws out some pretty explosive allegations against the Canadian rapper, including the infamous line: “Certified Loverboy, Certified ‘p***phile’… trying to strike a chord and it’s probably a Minor.”
The feud is currently back in the headlines after Lamar performed the track infront of millions during his Super Bowl halftime show performance, which you can watch below:
Drake has taken legal action over the accusations made in the track, suing Universal Music Group (UMG) alleging defamation and harassment as well as claims of artificially inflating the streams on the record earlier this year. UMG represents both Drake and Lamar.
Papers filed by Drake’s legal team accused UMG of launching ‘a campaign to create a viral hit’ through a song which made a ‘false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal p***phile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response’.
But why is the 38-year-old suing UMG and not Lamar himself?
According to one entertainment lawyer, Drake’s decision not to name Lamar in the lawsuit may have more to do with his relationship with UMG and the claims centred around the promotion of ‘Not Like Us’ rather than the lyrical content.
Sharing an explanation for the decision to name UMG and not Lamar in the suit, lawyer Tre Lovell told Slate: “He’s not suing Lamar for a couple reasons. First of all, it’s kind of hard to sue Lamar when Drake is doing the same thing.
Drake has filed a lawsuit against UMG over the release of ‘Not Like Us’ (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
“Second, I think he’s saving face with his public, because I think it would look bad upon him if he ends up suing another artist over lyrics.”
Lovell also pointed out that it wouldn’t make sense for Drake to go after Lamar over claims of ‘artificially’ boosting of streams as he is not directly involved in how the song was promoted.
“The claim that UMG is buffing up the streams, has nothing to do with Lamar,” he added.
“Lamar has nothing to do with the promotion and marketing of Drake’s stuff. Those are the reasons he probably kept the lawsuit against the label.”
UMG previously released a statement in response to the claims made in the lawsuit, saying it would be ‘illogical’ for them to damage his reputation.
“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical,” the statement read.
Lamar performed the track during the Super Bowl half-time show (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
“We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.
“Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists.
“He now seeks to weaponise the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from [Universal] for distributing that artist’s music.”
Meanwhile, in a statement issued via lawyers prior to the song playing in the halftime show of this year’s Super Bowl, Drake said: “UMG is masquerading as a champion of artistic freedom by calling its actions merely ‘entertainment,’ but there is nothing entertaining about pedophilia or child abuse in the real world.
“We are confident that the evidence we will ultimately present at trial—including information we’ve already learned and continue to receive since filing the lawsuit—will expose UMG’s gross prioritization of its own corporate profits and executive bonuses over its exclusively signed artists’ well-being and the truth.”
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