The Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef continues as new claims of Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify conspiring to inflate the popularity of “Not Like Us” artificially.
In a new filing at a Manhattan court on Monday, November 25, Drake’s Frozen Moments claims that Lamar’s song was part of a “scheme.”
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” Drake’s attorneys allege, according to Billboard. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
“Not Like Us” is a diss track directed at Drake that Lamar released on May 4, 2024, amid a series of back-and-forth diss tracks between the two rappers. In the track, Lamar calls Drake a “certified pedophile.”
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The motion filed is now a lawsuit that could potentially lead to one. The filing notes how the music label and streaming service carried out their “scheme.”
“UMG … conspired with and paid currently unknown parties to use ‘bots’ to artificially inflate the spread of ‘Not Like Us’ and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it was in reality,” Drake’s lawyers say, noting that UMG reduced their licensing rates to Spotify in exchange for the streamer to recommend the song to users.
Apple was also mentioned in the motion but was not accused of legal wrongdoing.
“Online sources reported that when users asked Siri to play the album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ by [Drake], Siri instead played ‘Not Like Us,’ which contains the lyric ‘certified pedophile,’ an allegation against Drake,” reads the filing.
The motion also states that “Drake has repeatedly sought to engage UMG in discussions to resolve the ongoing harm he has suffered as a result of UMG’s actions,” adding, “UMG refused to engage in negotiations, and insisted that UMG is not responsible for its own actions.”