Drake’s war of words with Kendrick Lamar, through a vicious back-and-forth of diss tracks, generated some of the biggest headlines in rap this year.
And now it has landed in court.
On Monday, lawyers for Drake filed legal papers in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan accusing the Universal Music Group — the giant record company behind both rappers — and Spotify of participating in an elaborate scheme to promote Lamar’s “Not Like Us” at the expense of Drake’s music, using bots to drive up clicks on streaming services and payola to influence radio stations.
Universal “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us,’” Drake’s filing said, “in order to make that song go viral, including by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements.”
The document filed Monday, on behalf of one of Drake’s companies, Frozen Moments, was not a full legal complaint but rather a petition, a preliminary step before a lawsuit is filed. In an accompanying document, Drake’s lawyers asked the court to order “pre-action disclosure” from Universal and Spotify.
The 17-page petition makes scant reference to evidence to support its accusations. The document cites a YouTube video featuring an interview with an unnamed man who claims that Lamar’s label, Interscope — a division of Universal — “paid him via third parties to use ‘bots’” to boost the plays of “Not Like Us.” The petition refers only to “currently unknown parties” in conjunction with this alleged scheme.
In response to Drake’s filing, a spokesman for Universal Music said in a statement: “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.”
Spotify declined to comment.
The feud between Lamar and Drake exploded through a series of back-and-forth tracks released this spring, which grew increasingly harsh. On “Family Matters,” Drake described Lamar as a fake activist and suggested friction and alleged abuse in Lamar’s romantic relationship. Hours later, on “Meet the Grahams,” Lamar called Drake a liar and a “pervert” who “should die” to make the world safer for women.
A day later, Lamar released “Not Like Us,” which would be the biggest hit in the feud, generating 915 million clicks on Spotify around the world, far more than any of Drake’s tracks. “Not Like Us” went to No. 1 and was recently nominated for Grammy Awards for both record and song of the year.
As the record company behind both Drake and Lamar, Universal would stand to earn money from each of those tracks, regardless of which ended up being more popular. Drake’s petition was filed three days after Lamar released a new album, “GNX,” whose songs have quickly shot up the streaming charts.
On the final page of the petition, Drake attested that he is “the corporate officer” of Frozen Moments, LLC, and signed with his real name: Aubrey Graham.
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