Drake will be able to seek access to Kendrick Lamar's record deal after a judge in his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) ruled against the company's demand to halt the discovery process on Wednesday. UMG had argued that Drake's lawsuit is so unlikely to succeed that allowing him access to "commercially sensitive documents" would be a waste of time.
According to Billboard, Drake’s lead attorney, Michael Gottlieb, said after the ruling: “Now it’s time to see what UMG was so desperately trying to hide.” The latest update comes as Universal Music Group has been working to get Drake's case thrown out, calling the lawsuit "meritless." They wrote in one recent motion to dismiss: “Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”
Why Is Drake Suing UMG?
Drake's team ended up firing back at that filing by claiming that millions of fans believed Kendrick Lamar when he called the Toronto rapper an alleged "pedophile." “UMG completely ignores the complaint’s allegations that millions of people, all over the world, did understand the defamatory material as a factual assertion that plaintiff is a pedophile,” Drake’s attorneys write. “UMG also ignores [the lawsuit’s claim] that the statements in question (and surrounding context) implied that the allegations were based on undisclosed evidence and the audience understood as much.”
Drake's lawsuit centers around the release and promotion of Kendrick Lamar's diss track, "Not Like Us." He alleges UMG knowingly boosted the success of the track, which contains lyrics with allegations of pedophilia, in an attempt to devalue his brand. UMG has already strongly denied the allegations several times. The song ended up being a hit and Lamar performed it, along with other diss tracks, at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. The song also won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video.
[Via]
