Source: Ethan Miller/Getty
Drake is doubled. After initially accusing Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of boosting Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us” against him, in a second filing, Drizzy claims UMG and iHeartRadio defamed him in the process of making the song massive.
According to Bulletin boardDrake filed this latest petition in Texas and claims K. Dot “falsely” accused him of being a “sex offender” in his megahit diss song “Not Like Us.” But his label was promoting it anyway.
Per Bulletin board:
A day later filing a lawsuit In New York accusing UMG of illegally boosting Lamar's track on Spotify, Drake's company filed similar claims in Texas court about radio giant iHeartRadio. The new filing, filed late Monday and made public Tuesday, alleges that UMG “channeled payments” to iHeart as part of a “pay-to-play scheme” to promote the song on radio.
But the filing also offers key new details about Drake's grievances with UMG, the company where he has spent his entire career. In it, he says UMG knew Kendrick's song “falsely” accused him of being a “certified pedophile” and a “predator,” but chose to release it anyway.
Part of the backlash to Drake's original filing was that he had all this energy to challenge Kendrick Lamar's ht song getting all these spins, but none of the accusations of being a pedophile. However, the way he deals with it in this fill doesn't win him any points. Instead, the Toronto rapper sounds bad that UMG dared to cash in on him – when you consider that they certainly cashed in on his own diss tracks.
“UMG … could refuse to release or distribute the song or require the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” Drake's lawyers wrote. “But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG devised, funded and then executed a plan to turn “Not Like Us” into a viral mega-hit in order to use the spectacle of damage to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive income. This plan succeeded, probably beyond UMG's wildest expectations.”
While Spotify and iHeartRadio have yet to respond, UMG did on Monday (November 25). From the tone of her statement, the entity is not happy with their superstar rapper and the nefarious actions he implies.
“The suggestion that UMG would go out of its way to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the company said in a statement to Bulletin board. “We use the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can hide the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
This will get more interesting while Drake continues to cook on the internet.
