Canadian rapper Drake has escalated his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar by filing legal claims in the US court system, accusing Universal Music of conspiring to inflate Lamar’s streaming numbers and defaming him, according to court documents and media reports on Tuesday.
Drake and Lamar, two of hip-hop’s most influential figures, have been locked in a war of words for years, with tensions spiking this year following the release of controversial diss tracks aimed at each other. Lamar’s track Not Like Us, which was critical of Drake and included allegations about his personal life, became a commercial hit, surpassing 900 million Spotify streams and earning multiple Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year.
Drake’s legal filings accuse Universal Music Group (UMG), which distributed Lamar’s track, of striking a deal to offer Spotify unusually low licensing fees in exchange for the platform heavily promoting the song to its subscribers. Drake also claims UMG used bots to artificially inflate the streaming numbers for Not Like Us.
In a second petition, Drake alleges that UMG knew the song contained offensive content but still chose to distribute it without demanding any edits or changes to its lyrics. He suggests that UMG’s actions were designed to harm his public image and drive revenue from the controversy.
Universal Music Group has strongly denied the allegations, with a spokesperson calling them offensive and untrue. The statement reiterated that the company adheres to the highest ethical practices in its marketing and promotional campaigns, asserting that fans choose the music they want to hear.
While Drake’s filings are not lawsuits or formal allegations of fraud or defamation, the evidence collected could lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit. The legal actions follow the surprise release of Lamar’s new album GNX last Friday, and come just months before he is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February.
