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Drake's Legal Battle with Kendrick Lamar: A Battle in the Music Industry

2024-11-26

Drake's rap feud with Kendrick Lamar has taken a surprising turn as he has taken his grievances to the court. In a petition filed on Monday in New York Supreme Court, the Canadian rapper alleges that Universal Music Group and Spotify were involved in a "scheme to ensure" Lamar's diss track, "Not Like Us," gained significant popularity on multiple streaming platforms. He claims that UMG used underhanded tactics to boost the song's listenership on Spotify and radio stations, resulting in it breaking several Spotify records and reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 twice.

Music Corporation's Response

The music corporation, Universal Music Group, has firmly denied Drake's claims. In a statement to USA TODAY, they stated, "The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. 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."

Spotify's Stance

A Spotify spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, leaving the situation somewhat ambiguous.

Drake's Accusations

Among Drake's claims is that "UMG charged Spotify licensing rates 30 percent lower than its usual rates for 'Not Like Us' in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending the song to users searching for other unrelated songs and artists." Citing a statement from an unknown "whistleblower" on a podcast, Drake also accuses the company of conspiring with "unknown parties" to purchase bots that "artificially inflate the spread of 'Not Like Us' and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it actually was."To date, "Not Like Us" has garnered an impressive 914 million plays on Spotify. Lamar's "Humble" remains his most-streamed track, with 2.4 billion streams. Last year, Drake landed at No. 4 on Spotify's list of most-streamed artists globally. Lamar was not among the Top 10 artists in any metric in 2023.Monday's petition claims that UMG "engaged in similar pay-to-play schemes to increase the airplay of 'Not Like Us' on the radio," known as payola. Drake alleges that the company tried to cover up these "schemes" by "terminating employees associated with or perceived as having loyalty to Drake.""Streaming and licensing is a zero-sum game. Every time a song 'breaks through,' it means another artist does not," the petition says. "UMG's choice to saturate the music market with 'Not Like Us' comes at the expense of its other artists, like Drake. As Drake is Petitioner's sole owner, and Petitioner owns the copyright to Drake's entire catalogue, Petitioner suffered economic harm as a result of UMG's scheme."Both Drake and Lamar have deals with Universal Music Group, which distributes their music.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake's Feud Timeline

Lamar and Drake's feud goes back more than a decade to 2013 when Lamar rapped on the Big Sean song "Control" about how he wanted to "murder" Drake and other prominent rappers. On May 4, "Not Like Us" was released as Lamar's response to Drake, who had previously insulted Lamar's ability to make a radio hit.The DJ Mustard-produced song calls Drake a "certified pedophile" and includes the incendiary lyric: "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-Minor." Lamar also takes shots at Drake's industry friendships, his appropriation of certain aspects of Black American culture and shoots his lyrics back at him, saying it was "God's plan to show y'all the liar."In the lead-up to "Not Like Us," the two traded barbs (and bars), starting with Lamar's feature on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That" in March, which led to Drake's full diss track "Push Ups," then Lamar's "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA."Both rappers on Monday received Billboard Music Award nominations and will face off in the top rap artist and top male rap artist categories. Earlier this month, Lamar's "Not Like Us" earned five Grammy nominations while Drake, who has not entered any submissions to the Recording Academy in recent years, received zero nods.Contributing: Naledi Ushe