Drake has intensified his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar following the release of Lamar’s new track, ‘Not Like Us’.
This rivalry between the two artists has been simmering for some time, but tensions escalated dramatically earlier this year when each released diss tracks targeting the other.
Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ came out on May 4, shortly after Drake unveiled his own track titled ‘Push Ups’.
While both songs received attention, Lamar’s track surged ahead in popularity, accumulating over a billion streams, compared to the 28.6 million streams for ‘Push Ups’.
The lyrics in ‘Not Like Us’ include sharp allegations about Drake’s personal life, which have now prompted discussions of potential legal action.
Following his initial legal move against UMG, Kendrick’s label, for alleged stream inflation (as reported by the BBC), Drake has now initiated a second pre-legal action in New York. This filing focuses on lyrics in Lamar’s song that allegedly accuse him of being a sex offender.
According to Billboard, Drake claims that UMG was aware that Lamar’s song falsely labeled him a ‘certified paedophile’ and a ‘predator’, yet chose to release it regardless.
“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” state Drake’s lawyers.
“But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.”
UMG has not yet responded to Drake’s latest legal action. However, they previously issued a statement regarding Monday’s (November 25) accusations of streaming number inflation.
In a statement to Billboard, UMG 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.”
Drake’s legal filing comes shortly after Kendrick surprised fans with the release of a new album titled GNX on November 22.
GNX is Lamar’s first album since the 2022 release of ‘Mr Morale & The Big Steppers’, marking his sixth studio album.
This unexpected release caps off a significant year for Kendrick, who also appeared on the track ‘Like That’ with Future and Metro Boomin, a song that spent three weeks at No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Additionally, Kendrick has been announced as the headliner for the Super Bowl 2025 Halftime Show.