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Roommates, it looks like Drake is taking out his Kendrick Lamar beef on Universal Music Group. Drizzy has filed two petitions against the record label based on allegations that it boosted the visibility of K. Dot’s diss track ‘Not Like Us.’
The song has given Kenny a year to remember. It debuted at number one on the Hot Billboard 100, earned him five Grammy nominations, and set the tone for his upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include Drake’s second petition against UMG, which he filed on Nov. 26. Keep reading for updates.
On Monday, Drake gagged social media when he took his and Lamar’s beef from the booth to the courthouse. To be clear, the Toronto rapper isn’t suing Kendrick or any other entities YET. The petition focuses on whether Universal conspired against Drake by using “a payola scheme” and bots to boost ‘Not Like Us,’ per TMZ. He’s reportedly seeking to collect more facts to potentially prepare one or more lawsuits.
Drake reportedly had an “inside source” at Universal who told him that the record label paid multiple platforms to hype and play the diss track. Those platforms allegedly include radio stations with the iHeartRadio network. If true, that would mean UMG violated the FCC regulation against payola.
What evidence does Drizzy have? Well, it appears that he’s questioning how quickly the track became a hit. And he alleges that the record label has done this before. Drake’s petition cites a $12 million payout Universal made in 2006 to the New York Attorney General’s Office. The settlement was for a “pay for play” set-up. The rapper’s inside source also claims UMG used bots to boost the song’s Spotify streams in May 2024.
Per the petition, UMG also relied on paid influencer reviews of ‘Not Like Us.’ Additionally, Drake claims the label eased up all of its copyright restrictions so social media users could freely share and use the song.
