Drake escalates Kendrick Lamar feud by suing record company over song 'falsely accusing him of being sex offender'
Drake has taken his feud with Kendrick Lamar further after his rap nemesis dropped 'Not Like Us'.
The two music stars have long been beefing it out, but their feud came to a head earlier this year when both Drake and Kendrick dropped diss tracks about one another.
Kendrick released 'Not Like Us' on May 4 after Drake dropped his song 'Push Ups' a few weeks prior.
But Kendrick's track ended up being the winner in terms of streaming numbers and has amassed over a billion streams, while 'Push Ups' has had around 28.6 million.
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In 'Not Like Us', Lamar makes pointed allegations relating to Drake's personal life, which are now the subject of a potential future lawsuit.
Just one day after filing legal action against UMG (Lamar's label) over alleged stream boosting (as per the BBC), Drake has launched a second pre-action filing in New York relating to lyrics in Lamar's song that 'falsely accuse him [Drake] of being a sex offender'.
According to Billboard, the Canadian rapper alleges that UMG knew Lamar's hit song was 'falsely' accusing him of being a 'certified paedophile' and a 'predator', but they chose to release it anyway.
“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” Drake’s lawyers write.
“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.”
While UMG has yet to comment on Drake's latest legal filing, they did release a statement relating to Monday's (November 25) action, in which the label was accused of illegally inflating streaming numbers.
In a statement issued to Billboard, the music corporation said: "The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.
"We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear."
UNILAD have approached Spotify and UMG for comment.
Drake's legal filing comes just days after Kendrick surprised fans with a new album titled GNX, which was released on November 22.
GNX is the rapper’s first release since 2022’s Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, and his sixth studio album overall.
The surprise release caps a big year for the Kendrick, who featured on the song 'Like That' with Future and Metro Boomin - a track that spent three weeks at No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year.
Elsewhere, Kendrick has been announced as the Super Bowl 2025's headliner for its infamous Halftime Show.
Topics: Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Music, Spotify, News
Niamh Shackleton