In January of this year, Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group. In it, he accused the label of artificially inflating the success of Kendrick Lamar's hit diss track, "Not Like Us." UMG filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in March, vehemently denying the allegations. The Toronto rapper proceeded to file an amended version of the suit in April, including new allegations related to Kendrick's Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show.
Yesterday, lawyers for both Drake and UMG attended a hearing to discuss the label's dismissal request. While Drizzy's team urged the judge to allow the lawsuit to proceed, UMG's team fiercely defended "Not Like Us," insisting that it's merely an example of the hip-hop tradition of throwing exaggerated jabs in lyrics. “Trash-talking in the extreme,” they said, “is not, and should not be treated as, statements of fact.”
Now, a spokesperson for Drake has released a statement, per AllHipHop, alleging that UMG is trying to hide artist exploitation.
Drake UMG Lawsuit
“UMG is desperate to see this case not move forward because the company can’t hide its misconduct in a courtroom the way it does in the boardroom,” the statement alleges. “Soon, in addition to facing concerned regulators and investors, the leadership of music’s most powerful label will have to answer for the damage it has caused to every artist that has been silenced, exploited, endangered or discarded.”
At the time of writing, UMG has not publicly responded.
During the hearing Judge Jeannette Vargas didn't issue a ruling. She did, however, question how an ordinary listener would interpret Kendrick's lyrics. “Who is the ordinary listener?” she wondered. “Is it someone who’s going to catch all those references? There’s so much specialized and nuanced to these lyrics.”
