Canadian superstar Drake has made an interesting play in his ongoing beef with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
According to legal filings and media reports, Drake in court filings, is accusing record label Universal Music of conspiring to inflate the California hip-hop star's streaming numbers, and of defaming him.
This year, the so-called "beef" between the top rappers reached its peak, with both rappers dropping diss tracks aimed at each other.
The Pulitzer Prize winner dropped "Not Like Us", which had huge commercial success exceeding 900 million streams on Spotify. The song has even been nominated for song of the Year at the Grammys.
The critically acclaimed song takes major digs at Drake, accusing him of having relationships with underage girls.
Drake hasn’t taken the allegations lightly, he has accused Universal Music Group (UMG), which distributed Lamar’s song, of charging Spotify unusually low prices to license the track.
In return, UMG allegedly requested that Spotify promote the song widely to its subscribers.
In a court document filed in New York, Drake claimed that UMG used automated computer "bots" to inflate the number of times the song has been streamed on Spotify artificially.
In a second petition filed in Texas, which was first reported by the music site Billboard, Drake alleged that UMG was aware the song contained "offending material" but chose to distribute it anyway, without insisting on any changes or edits to the lyrics.
The petition stated, "UMG designed, financed, and 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 generate massive revenues."
It's important to note that neither of these legal actions constitutes lawsuits, nor are they formal allegations of fraud or defamation. However, evidence collected from both petitions could be used for a lawsuit at a later stage.
Drake's lawyers: "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" pic.twitter.com/Z0lqRnmK7q
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 26, 2024
"The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue," a spokesperson for UMG said in an e-mailed statement to AFP.
"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."
During his recent appearance on xQc’s livestream, Drake played it cool about his ongoing beef with Lamar, but it seems he had something up his sleeve.
IOL Entertainment