Drake Hints at Suing His Own Label for Defamation Over ‘Not Like Us’

Drake is doubling down in his ongoing legal war against his own label and Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” filing a new legal action in Texas that alleges Universal Music Group knowingly allowed Lamar to call him a “certified pedophile” as it sought to “drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues.”

The new petition filed late Monday in Bexar County, Texas, is requesting pre-lawsuit depositions from iHeartMedia and UMG representatives to explore Drake’s allegation that UMG Recordings “funneled payments to iHeartRadio and its radio stations as part of a pay-to-play scheme.” Drake alleges he already has “sufficient” evidence to pursue a defamation claim but “currently lacks factual support necessary to determine whether he may bring claims of civil fraud and racketeering against UMG.” According to his filing, Drake believes UMG and unidentified co-conspirators “violated payola laws.”

The new filing comes after Drake’s company Frozen Moments sued UMG in New York on Monday, accusing the music giant of conspiring with third parties to illegally boost Lamar’s track on streaming services such as Spotify. In that petition, Drake specifically accused UMG of engaging in “pay-to-play schemes to increase the air play of ‘Not Like Us’ on the radio.” (Read the full petition.)

UMG denied any wrongdoing in a statement. “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” a UMG spokesperson said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “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.” (A rep for iHeartMedia did not immediately reply to a request for comment.)

In the new Texas filing, Drake alleges UMG knew that Lamar’s song, album art and music video attacked his character by “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders, and committing other criminal sexual acts.” He says UMG allowed the song to proliferate knowing it called him a “certified pedophile,” a “predator,” and someone whose name should “be registered and placed on neighborhood watch.”

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“[UMG] could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed. But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed, and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit,” the new filing states. Drake alleges UMG knowingly harmed him to promote “Not Like Us” amid an alleged scheme that generated revenues “likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.”

The beef between Lamar and Drake simmered for years and then exploded into a full-blown war earlier this year, with both sides trading diss tracks. Lamar was largely declared the winner after he dropped “Not Like Us” on May 4. The song received five Grammy nominations, including for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Lamar is scheduled to headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LIX.