Drake accuses UMG, Spotify of unfairly boosting Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

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Karah Rucker Anchor

By Karah Rucker (Anchor), Roey Hadar (Producer), Jack Henry (Video Editor)

Rapper Drake is taking legal action against record label Universal Music Group and streaming app Spotify. The Canadian rapper claims both companies unfairly promoted his rival Kendrick Lamar during a public spat earlier this year.

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Lawyers representing Drake allege the companies illegally manipulated streaming numbers for Lamar’s diss track about him, “Not Like Us.”

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They cite online reports of Apple users hearing “Not Like Us” when asking for Drake’s album. In addition, they quote an alleged whistleblower who said they received money to set up bots to stream the song.

Drake’s company is not launching a full lawsuit yet. Instead, they filed an action in New York on Monday, Nov. 25, asking the companies to preserve documents ahead of a potential lawsuit.

Universal has record label deals with both Drake and Lamar.

A spokesperson for Universal told multiple outlets that Drake’s allegations are “offensive and untrue,” and that “fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Drake’s team filed a second legal action on Tuesday, Nov. 26, in Texas accusing Universal of taking similar actions with iHeartRadio, Billboard reports.

But this filing also accuses the label of defamation for choosing to release the song.

Lamar released the song in May during a feud in which he and Drake traded new releases of songs insulting each other.

In “Not Like Us,” Lamar refers to Drake and members of his entourage as “certified pedophiles” and implies Drake may be a sex offender himself.

Meanwhile, Lamar released a new album on Friday, Nov. 22, called “GNX.”

“Not Like Us” has earned four Grammy nominations and Lamar will perform at the Super Bowl in February.

Despite taking action against Spotify, Drake still leads in its metric of average monthly streams. The Canadian rap star receives 73 million plays each month, while his rival earns 63 million.

Tags: Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Music, music rights, Spotify, Super Bowl

KARAH RUCKER: Rapper Drake is taking legal action against record label Universal Music Group and streaming app Spotify, after claiming both companies unfairly promoted his rival, Kendrick Lamar, during a public spat earlier this year

Lawyers representing Drake allege the companies illegally manipulated and artificially inflated streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s diss track about him, “Not Like Us.”

They cite online reports of Apple users being directed to “Not Like Us” when asking for Drake’s album, and an alleged whistleblower who said they were paid to set up bots to stream the song on a loop.

Drake’s company is not launching a full lawsuit yet, but filed an action in New York on Monday asking the companies to preserve documents in case a lawsuit moves forward.

Universal has record label deals with both Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

A spokesperson for Universal told multiple outlets that Drake’s allegations are “offensive and untrue,” and that quote, “fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Drake’s team also filed a second legal action on Tuesday in Texas, accusing Universal of taking similar actions with iHeartRadio.

But this filing also accuses the label of defamation for choosing to release the song.

Kendrick Lamar released the song in May, during a feud in which he and Drake traded new releases of songs insulting each other.

In “Not Like Us,” Lamar refers to Drake and members of his entourage as, quote, “certified pedophiles,” and implies Drake may be a sex offender himself.

Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar, released a new album on Friday called “GNX.”

“Not Like Us” is nominated for four Grammy awards and Lamar is set to perform at the Super Bowl in February.

Despite taking action against Spotify, Drake still leads in their metric of average monthly streams – the Canadian rap star receives 73 million plays each month, while his rival at 63 million.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Karah Rucker.

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