Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation

The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia

Drake performing on stage during a 2022 concert at the State Farm in Atlanta, Georgia
Neither of Drake's legal actions are lawsuits
(Image credit: Prince Williams / Wireimage / Getty Images)

What happened

Rapper Drake filed a second of two legal petitions over rival Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss track Tuesday, accusing Universal Music Group of defamation for allowing the release of the track "falsely accusing him of being a sex offender." Drake has also accused UMG — which owns both Drake's and Lamar's labels — of conspiring to artificially inflate the popularity of "Not Like Us" on Spotify and other streaming services.

Who said what

Drake's initial action, filed Monday in Manhattan by his company Frozen Moments LLC, accuses UMG of an illegal operation "involving bots, payola and other methods" to promote Lamar's track, said Billboard.

The second suit, filed in Texas, accuses UMG of "knowing Lamar's track contained allegations about Drake that his lawyers say are false," said Forbes, including claims that he is a "certified pedophile" and "predator." The filing also claims the record label "funneled payments" to iHeartRadio in a "pay-to-play scheme."

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What next?

Neither of Drake's legal actions are lawsuits. They are "pre-action filings intended to take depositions" from officials at UMG and iHeartRadio to "obtain more information for a potential lawsuit," said Variety.

Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.