Drake Filed a Defamation Petition Against Kendrick Lamar and UMG For "Not Like Us" Claims

Content Warning: This article mentions child sexual abuse.

Since Kendrick Lamar released his May 2024 track, "Not Like Us," the song has been the gift that keeps on giving. Music lovers worldwide have quoted the song through posts, memes, and multiple group chats. The song also catapulted Kendrick's career even further as he has continued to enjoy the fruits of creating the popular track. In September 2024, he was announced as the headliner for the 2025 Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, Kendrick's success from "Not Like Us" hasn't been easy for his longtime foe, Drake, to watch. That may have something to do with "Not Like Us" being about Drake and includes allegations regarding the Canadian rapper's personal life.

In the months since the song's release, the "Nice for What" artist decided to sue Kendrick and Universal Music Group, their shared distributor.

Drake hasn't officially sued Kendrick and UMG. However, on Monday, November 25, he and his company, Frozen Moments, LLC., filed a pre-action petition against them. In his court filing, he accused UMG of falsely pumping up "Not Like Us" on Spotify and other streaming services, per AP. Drake and Kendrick both have a relationship with UMG, as the label's team is responsible for distributing their music through their labels.

The filing states that Drake believes UMG went to great lengths to get Kendrick's music out and said the company "launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us,’ in order to make that song go viral, including by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements.” He also stated UMG used its "long-standing symbiotic relationship" with Spotify to support Kendrick's sales.

Drake further alleged that UMG fired employees who were vocal about supporting him “in an apparent effort to conceal its schemes.” One day after his Nov. 25 filing, another one went public and showed the rapper further accusing UMG of using "funneled payments" to iHeart as part of a “pay-to-play scheme” to promote the song on the radio, per Billboard.

Drake also claimed UMG knew about the content in "Not Like Us," which includes Kendrick saying lyrics like, "Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young, You better not ever go to cell block one," and calling him a "certified pedophile" and "predator."

The music label responded in a statement after seeing Drake's initial filing against UMG and Kendrick. In the statement, the company called Drake's accusations "offensive and untrue," the team expressed their offensiveness over the allegations.

"The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” UMG said. “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.”

Spotify, which shared that "Not Like Us" has over 90 million plays on its platform, hasn't addressed Drake's petition publicly. Kendrick also hasn't said anything about the possible lawsuit.

The rappers' possible legal woes is another piece of their feud's saga. While they were once collaborators, both Drake and Kendrick have taken multiple jabs at one another since 2013.