The potential legal battle over allegations connected to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” added a new layer on Tuesday.
Per a report from Billboard, Drake has accused the music corporation of defamation. News of the move comes just one day after the surprise reveal of an initial filing in New York focused on allegations of Spotify-focused payola. This time, Drake’s company has zeroed in on what’s being alleged as a “pay-to-play” operation involving iHeartRadio. As for the song, Drake’s legal team is arguing that UMG “could have refused to release or distribute” the track.
The crux of the defamation argument, per the report, are choice lyrics from Kendrick’s Grammy-nominated diss, namely the “predator” and “pedophiles” talk. To be clear, however, Kendrick himself is not a respondent in the newly reported filing.
This new filing isn’t a lawsuit, nor is the one first revealed to the public at the top of the week. It could save as a precursor to a formal lawsuit in the future, however.
“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,” Drake’s legal team argued in the new filing.
Complex has reached out to UMG and iHeartRadio reps for comment. This story may be updated. In a previous statement, a UMG spokesperson said it used “the highest ethical practices” in its marketing and promo campaigns.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the spokesperson said on Monday.
UMG, one of the music industry’s top three players alongside Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group, is the parent company of multiple labels—Capitol Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, Island Records, Republic Records, and Interscope Records all fall under the UMG banner—and has relationships with both Drake and Kendrick. For All the Dogs, for example, was released last October through OVO Sound and Republic. Meanwhile, Kendrick’s latest, GNX, was released as a surprise last Friday through pgLang and Interscope.
