Drake has sued Common Music Group (UMG) for defamation over rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss monitor Not Like Us.
The lawsuit alleges UMG – which Drake, 38, and Lamar, 37, are each signed to – revealed and promoted the monitor despite the fact that it included false allegations the God’s Plan rapper is a paedophile and prompt listeners ought to resort to vigilante justice.
It’s the newest growth in a bitter feud between two of hip hop’s greatest stars, who launched a sequence of diss tracks final yr making private remarks about one another.
Lamar shouldn’t be named within the lawsuit, which was filed to a federal court docket in New York on Wednesday.
In search of a trial and an undisclosed amount of cash for damages, the lawsuit alleges UMG knowingly “decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetise allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous”.
It stated the allegations immediately resulted in Drake’s safety guard being shot exterior his Toronto mansion in Could final yr, and two tried break-ins in the identical month.
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Drake is the world’s most-streamed hip hop artist. Pic: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
The rapper, who’s the world’s most-streamed hip hop artist, additionally claimed the monitor led to on-line hate and harassment, successful to his fame and a lower in his model’s worth earlier than his contract renegotiation with the file label this yr.
The swimsuit added that UMG “understood the recording’s inflammatory and shocking allegations were a gold mine” so did nothing to alter it or cease it from being revealed.
It additionally reiterated claims made in a authorized petition filed by Drake’s agency Frozen Moments LLC final November, that UMG and Spotify artificially boosted Not Like Us, “including by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements”.
UMG additionally refutes the most recent claims, saying in a press release on Wednesday: “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.”
It added: “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 authorized course of to silence an artist’s artistic expression and to hunt damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music. “
Lamar’s monitor Not Like Us was streamed nearly 900 million occasions after its launch on 4 Could. It’s nominated for 5 Grammys, together with file of the yr and music of the yr.
The Pulitzer Prize winner is about to carry out the half-time present of subsequent month’s Tremendous Bowl.
