Drake has initiated a second legal case against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the company of defamation over Kendrick Lamar’s track “Not Like Us.” The rapper claims that UMG could have prevented the release of the song, which he argues falsely labels him as a sex offender.
A similar lawsuit in New York, including accusations that UMG unlawfully promoted Lamar’s song on Spotify, Drake’s company now extends these allegations to iHeartRadio, accusing the radio giant of receiving “funnelled payments” from UMG as part of a “pay-to-play” arrangement to boost the track’s airplay.
The filing, made public on Tuesday, also offers further insights into Drake’s grievances against UMG, the label with which he has had a long-standing relationship. According to the legal documents, Drake asserts that UMG was aware that Lamar’s song “falsely” accused him of being a “paedophile” and a “predator,” yet chose to distribute it regardless.
Drake’s lawyers state that UMG had the option to withhold the song’s release or demand edits to remove the offensive content but opted to go ahead with the release. They claim UMG deliberately engineered the song’s success, exploiting the controversy to generate massive revenues by capitalising on public interest in the harm done to Drake’s reputation and business.
The statement revealed, “Before it approved the release of the song, UMG knew that the song itself, as well as its accompanying album art and music video, attacked the character of another one of UMG’s most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harbouring sex offenders and committing other criminal sexual acts.
“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed. But UMG chose to do the opposite.
“UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.”
In addition to seeking further information through depositions from UMG and iHeartRadio figures, the filing is not a formal lawsuit, but a preliminary move towards a potential future case. Drake’s legal team maintains that they have sufficient evidence to pursue a defamation claim and could expand their case to include charges of civil fraud and racketeering based on the findings from the depositions.
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