Drake may still be rolling out his new album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, but oddly enough, he seems more concerned with older music at the moment. For those unaware, UMG recently filed a motion to dismiss his defamation lawsuit against them over the Kendrick Lamar diss track, "Not Like Us." The 6ix God's legal team was quick to respond to this motion, doubling down on their claims and accusing the label and distributor of avoiding accountability. In fact, his attorney Michael J. Gottlieb alleged in a legal filing that they know of at least a couple of alleged illegal payments to third parties to promote the West Coast banger.
Furthermore, Drake's legal team accuses UMG of engaging in "'deceptive acts and practices' through which [they] 'covertly financially incentiviz[ed] third parties to play, stream, and promote ["Not Like Us"],' including covert payments to a popular podcast; 'payola' payments to radio stations; and charging below-market license rates to Spotify." They also maintained that just because they agreed to drop similar accusations against iHearMedia doesn't mean that the rest of their case is invalid.
Drake & Kanye West
What's funny is that this crusade against the industry is happening at the same time as another hip-hop superstar is naming Drizzy among many other rap opps. Kanye West recently went on a scathing rant against Drake and many more artists, including Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z. Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with the UMG lawsuit or with the Toronto superstar himself, as even Ye seems confused about whether or not to praise him or condemn him. But it goes to show that industry rifts and conflicts manifest in both the legal space and in interpersonal ones, and often times, the latter is what really stings.
Look no further than the year-old war between Drake and Kendrick Lamar as proof of this. A lot of people expressed skepticism over this UMG lawsuit, whereas others are rooting for its victory. Either way, the scale of this case might set a crucial precedent. Depending on what the court decides, it could impact the way we look at not just rap battles, not just the genre, but music as a whole in the future.
