Drake Gets Fiery Response From UMG Over 'Not Like Us' Defamation Lawsuit

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Drake has received a fast and forceful response from Universal Music Group after suing them for defamation over Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us.”

Filed in New York federal court on Wednesday (January 15), the lawsuit claims the music giant — the parent company of both Drake and Kendrick’s longtime record labels — knew the allegations in the hit diss song were false but released and promoted the song anyway, choosing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”

In a statement to HipHopDX, a UMG spokesperson hit back at the bombshell suit — the first of its kind in a rap beef — by calling Drizzy’s claims “untrue” and “illogical.”

“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical,” they said.

“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.

“Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists.

“He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”

The statement continued: “We have not and do not engage in defamation — against 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.”

In his lawsuit, which came shortly after Drake withdrew his initial pre-action petition against UMG, the 6 God argues that “Not Like Us” has not only damaged his reputation but opened him up to real-life violence.

The complaint cites a shooting at his Toronto home shortly after the song’s release that injured a security guard, as well as multiple trespassing incidents, blaming UMG for inciting such reactions with the diss track.

As a result, “Drake fears for the safety and security of himself, his family, and his friends” and “pulled his son out of the elementary school he attended in Toronto due to safety concerns.”

The suit also repeats previous claims that the music conglomerate artificially boosted the popularity of “Not Like Us” through streaming bots and payola, which was motivated by money and the desire to “devalue Drake’s music and brand in order to gain leverage” in renegotiating his contract.

Drake reiterates in the filing that he is not taking action against Kendrick Lamar, even though he is the one who wrote and rapped the allegedly defaming lyrics.

“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,” it emphasizes. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”

Kendrick Lamar has yet to comment on the legal drama.

While Drake’s pre-action petition against UMG and Spotify has been withdrawn, a similar filing in Texas against the company, as well as iHeartMedia, remains active and is set to be heard in court on January 28.

It remains to be seen whether a formal lawsuit will be filed in that case as well.