{"id":14,"date":"2025-01-16T20:32:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T20:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/"},"modified":"2025-01-16T20:32:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T20:32:06","slug":"drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar&#8217;s &#8216;Not Like Us&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>UPDATE (Jan. 15):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for UMG has released the following statement to <em>XXL<\/em> in response to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/drake\/\" target=\"_blank\">Drake<\/a>&#8216;s\u00a0new lawsuit:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist\u2014let alone Drake\u2014is illogical. We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth \u2018rap battles\u2019 to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist\u2019s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist\u2019s music.<\/p>\n<p>We have not and do not engage in defamation\u2014against any individual. At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more that write a song.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>ORIGINAL STORY (Jan 15):\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Drake\u00a0is reportedly suing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.universalmusic.com\" target=\"_blank\">Universal Music Group<\/a> for defamation in connection to the release of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/kendrick-lamar\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kendrick Lamar<\/a>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/us\/album\/not-like-us-single\/1744776162\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Not Like Us.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Drake Sues UMG in Federal Court<\/h3>\n<p>On Wednesday (Jan. 15), Drake stepped up his legal action against UMG by filing a lawsuit in New York federal court accusing the music giant of defamation and harassment,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/15\/arts\/music\/drake-kendrick-lamar-lawsuit-not-like-us.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0reports. The new lawsuit accuses UMG of distributing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/kendrick-lamars-not-like-us-top-billboard-hot-100-chart\/\" target=\"_blank\">chart-topping diss song<\/a>,\u00a0knowing it contained &#8220;false and malicious&#8221; claims about Drake being a child predator. Drake&#8217;s lawyers say the release of the song was &#8220;intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit notes the cover art for &#8220;Not Like Us,&#8221; which shows a map image of Drake&#8217;s home, and cites the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/drake-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\">shooting that took place<\/a> there shortly after the song&#8217;s release.<\/p>\n<p>Drake claims UMG propped up Kendrick in order to devalue Drake&#8217;s music, which would help them out in contract negotiations. Both Drake and Kendrick are signed under the UMG umbrella.<\/p>\n<h4>Read More:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/drake-couldve-sued-kendrick-lamar-umg-spotify-instead\/\" target=\"_blank\">To Be Clear, Drake Isn&#8217;t Suing Kendrick Lamar<\/a><\/h4>\n<h3>Drake Drops Legal Action in New York Supreme Court<\/h3>\n<p>Back in November, Drake filed two pre-action petitions against UMG. One in New York Supreme Court, accusing UMG and Spotify of conspiring to artificially inflate &#8220;Not Like Us&#8221; with bots and payola. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/drake-umg-defamation-kendrick-lamar-not-like-us\/\" target=\"_blank\">second petition<\/a> was filed in Houston and accuses UMG and iHeartRadio of similar collusion. It also accuses UMG of defamation.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday (Jan. 14), Drake&#8217;s legal team <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/drake-drops-legal-case-umg-spotify-new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\">withdrew the legal filing<\/a> in New York. The Texas case is set to be heard on Jan. 28<\/p>\n<p>Following the first legal filing, a spokesman for Universal Music responded to the case with the following statement: \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>XXL<\/em> has reached out to Drake&#8217;s attorneys and UMG for comment on the new case.<\/p>\n<h4>Read More: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/fans-react-drake-legal-action-kendrick-lamar-not-like-us\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fans React to Drake Taking Legal Action Against UMG and Spotify for Kendrick Lamar&#8217;s &#8220;Not Like Us&#8221;<\/a><\/h4>\n<p><h2 class=\"photogallery-title\">See the Serious Hip-Hop Trials Going Down in 2025<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/rest\/carbon\/api\/scripts.js?mver=540&#038;gver=6&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fbtloader.com%2Ftag%3Fo%3D5642230212591616%26upapi%3Dtrue&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.p-n.io%2Fpushly-sdk.min.js%3Fdomain_key%3DLT1Yn2pW9B5QzH6n4H2YlkQyVEfXVOOu82lt&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Ftownsquare.media%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fjs%2Fpubcid.min.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fplatform.twitter.com%2Fwidgets.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fapis.google.com%2Fjs%2Fplatform.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.facebook.net%2Fen_US%2Fsdk.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.pinterest.com%2Fjs%2Fpinit.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.doubleverify.com%2Fdvtag%2F29287203%2FDV1106009%2Fpub.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\" async defer data-osano=\"ESSENTIAL\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/drake-sues-umg-defamation-kendrick-lamar-not-like-us\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPDATE (Jan. 15): A spokesperson for UMG has released the following statement to XXL in response to Drake&#8216;s\u00a0new lawsuit: &#8220;Not<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar&#039;s &#039;Not Like Us&#039; - Hip Hop News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar&#039;s &#039;Not Like Us&#039; - Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UPDATE (Jan. 15): A spokesperson for UMG has released the following statement to XXL in response to Drake&#8216;s\u00a0new lawsuit: &#8220;Not\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-16T20:32:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/\",\"name\":\"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' - Hip Hop News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-16T20:32:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-16T20:32:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar&#8217;s &#8216;Not Like Us&#8217;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\",\"name\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"description\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\",\"name\":\"News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' - Hip Hop News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' - Hip Hop News","og_description":"UPDATE (Jan. 15): A spokesperson for UMG has released the following statement to XXL in response to Drake&#8216;s\u00a0new lawsuit: &#8220;Not","og_url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/","og_site_name":"Hip Hop News","article_published_time":"2025-01-16T20:32:06+00:00","author":"News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/","name":"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' - Hip Hop News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-16T20:32:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-16T20:32:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/drake-sues-umg-for-defamation-over-kendrick-lamars-not-like-us\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Drake Sues UMG for Defamation Over Kendrick Lamar&#8217;s &#8216;Not Like Us&#8217;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/","name":"Hip Hop News","description":"Hip Hop News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2","name":"News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"colormag-highlighted-post":false,"colormag-featured-post-medium":false,"colormag-featured-post-small":false,"colormag-featured-image":false,"colormag-default-news":false,"colormag-featured-image-large":false,"colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":false,"colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":false,"colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":false,"colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":false},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"News","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"UPDATE (Jan. 15): A spokesperson for UMG has released the following statement to XXL in response to Drake&#8216;s\u00a0new lawsuit: &#8220;Not","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["NEWS"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":124,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":3,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":false,"medium":false,"thumbnail":false},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"News","author_link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-1\">NEWS<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}