“Not Like Us,” the wildly popular Lamar single released in May is part of a flurry of dueling tracks by the two artists.
Drake claimed in a legal document filed on Monday that Universal Music Group artificially inflated the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us” on Spotify and other streaming platforms. The track is known for its harsh criticisms of Drake during a heated rivalry between the two famous hip-hop artists.
The filing, submitted in a New York court by Drake’s company Frozen Moments LLC, requests the preservation and disclosure of any information that could be relevant in a potential legal action against UMG, which serves as the distributor for both Drake and Lamar’s record labels.
According to the document, UMG has refuted the claims as “false and offensive.” It accuses the record label of orchestrating a deliberate effort to boost the visibility of “Not Like Us” through strategies like utilizing bots and engaging in pay-to-play agreements. The filing also suggests a cozy relationship between UMG and Spotify, alleging that special licensing deals were negotiated for the song to enhance its exposure.
The petition also says UMG has fired employees seen as loyal to Drake “in an apparent effort to conceal its schemes.”
Universal Music Group said in a statement in response that 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.”
“Not Like Us,” the wildly popular Lamar single released in May as part of a flurry of dueling tracks by the two artists, includes the lyrics, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young, You better not ever go to cell block one.” It has gotten more than 900 million plays, according to figures listed on Spotify.
Spotify representatives declined immediate comment, but in a statement on a previous case, the company said it “invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of artificial streaming on our platform,” and in broader public statements has said it has gone to great lengths to mitigate the effects of bad actors on streaming numbers and royalties.
The feud between Drake, a 38-year-old Canadian rapper and singer and five-time Grammy winner, and Lamar, a 37-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner who is set to headline the next Super Bowl halftime, is among the biggest in hip-hop in recent years, with two of the genre’s biggest stars at its center.
The two were occasional collaborators more than a decade ago, but Lamar began taking public jabs at Drake starting in 2013. The fight escalated steeply earlier this year. The move to court, while not yet a lawsuit, still represents a major escalation of the feud and involves some of the biggest business partners of both men.
