Drake has reignited his feud with Kendrick Lamar by initiating legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Lamar’s diss track, “Not Like Us.”
Drake’s company, Frozen Moments LLC, filed a pre-action petition in New York, accusing UMG and Spotify of artificially inflating the song’s streams through bots, payola, and other methods. The petition alleges that UMG manipulated streaming services and airwaves, leading to “Not Like Us” achieving runaway success with 96 million streams in seven days, topping the US charts, and becoming a top 10 radio hit.
Related: Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Ranked 3rd Best Song of the Decade by Pitchfork
A UMG spokesperson called the allegations “offensive and untrue,” asserting that “fans choose the music they want to hear.” Spotify and Lamar have yet to respond to the claims.
This legal action underscores the escalating rap beef between Drake and Lamar, with “Not Like Us” considered a decisive blow earlier this year. Drake’s lawyers argue that the song’s success was artificially inflated, resulting in economic harm to him.
The petition further claims that UMG cut royalty rates for the song by 30% in exchange for Spotify recommending it to users. Additionally, it references a whistleblower who alleged being paid to create bots that streamed the track repeatedly.
The lawsuit comes shortly after Lamar released his surprise album GNX, regarded as a follow-up to “Not Like Us.”
The track has been nominated for five Grammy awards, including Song of the Year, and Lamar is set to headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
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