UMG Moves To Dismiss New Drake Lawsuit
In a new twist to the ongoing legal battles between Drake and his parent label, UMG, the record label’s lawyers have responded to the lawsuit by using some of the Canadian rapper’s own lyrics against him.
Lawyers for Universal Media Group (UMG) have filed a motion to dismiss the Toronto-born rapper’s case for defamation and harassment, using his own lyrics “Successful” where he raps, “Diss me, you’ll never hear a reply for it.”
After withdrawing his lawsuit claiming streams were artificially boosted for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” in January, Drake’s legal team filed a federal-level suit against the record label, accusing them of defamation and harassment because of “false claims” in the song.
Drake has withdrawn his petition against UMG & Spotify after they sat down and came to an agreement today in court pic.twitter.com/aL9Iko6HHn
— Akademiks TV (@AkademiksTV) January 15, 2025
The claim that was particularly highlighted in the rap battle was in the wildly popular “Not Like Us,” in which Kendrick Lamar rapped that Drake was a “certified pedophile.” In a statement on the lawsuit, Drake’s legal team commented that UMG, “elevate a dangerous and inflammatory message that was designed to assassinate Drake’s character.”
They continued to allege, “UMG’s campaign went well beyond the traditional music company playbook — indeed, UMG has unleashed every weapon in its arsenal, including, on information and belief, certain practices that are unlawful.” The new suit is similar to the one previously filed, and also argues that UMG engaged in payola, which is the illegal act of paying third party groups to encourage the success of a song or artist.
say drake
— Genius (@Genius) February 10, 2025
this kendrick #superbowl performance is an all-time victory lap
pic.twitter.com/UzBzCfbDjW
After the song released last May, Drake experienced a violent home invasion attempt at his Toronto residence which wounded one of his bodyguards when one of the assailants allegedly opened fire. According to the lawsuit, this incident was incited by Lamar’s high profile release and caused Drake to elevate security concerns for his family.
However, it appears that UMG is not only denying the claims, but arguing that the new suit is a calculated move by the “Nokia” rapper in effort to mend his ego. In the new legal filing, UMG lawyers argue that “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.”
UMG also denied any involvement in third party bribery in the motion to dismiss, stating that the artist “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated.”
UMG in today's filing brought up how Drake accused Kendrick of domestic abuse and claimed Kendrick's child is his business partners. "But now, after losing the rap battle, Drake claims that 'Not Like Us' is defamatory". pic.twitter.com/6xfUxpwd9z
— Cawb. (@CAWBBBB) March 17, 2025
Lamar and Drake have feuded for at least a decade according to some sources, even though the pair have appeared on several songs together over the years. However, it reached a fever pitch in 2024, when Lamar featured on the Future and Metro Boomin track “Like That,” which some fans saw as a dig at J. Cole and Drake’s 2023 song, “First Person Shooter.”
The duo engaged in a highly publicized five round rap battle, which many believe Drake lost. Lamar went on to win five Grammys for “Not Like Us,” which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. Lamar also performed the hit at the Superbowl this year, featuring Serena Williams crip walking on the field.
Drake’s attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb responded to the UMG filing, stating, “UMG wants to pretend that this is about a rap battle in order to distract its shareholders, artists and the public from a simple truth: a greedy company is finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation that has already resulted in multiple acts of violence.”
He concluded, “This motion is a desperate ploy by UMG to avoid accountability, but we have every confidence that this case will proceed and continue to uncover UMG’s long history of endangering and abusing its artists.”
While we wait for more details to unfold, you can stream Drake’s music on Spotify and Apple Music.
