All through a venomous back-and-forth barrage of diss tracks latter future, the rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar accused each and every alternative of phoniness, hypocrisy and abuse. However year fanatics anointed Lamar’s chart-topping unmarried “Not Like Us” the combat’s knockout squander, Drake noticed the music’s punchlines invoking pedophilia as one thing way more insidious — and with real-world repercussions.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court docket, the artist born Aubrey Drake Graham sued Common Song Workforce, the report corporate at the back of each rappers, for defamation and harassment, calling its drop and promotion of “Not Like Us” an instance of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”
The go well with, introduced within the U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of Brandnew York, accuses Common of getting “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track” that was once “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.”
Noting that the shield artwork for “Not Like Us” includes a picture of Drake’s Toronto house dotted with markers intended to constitute the presence of registered intercourse offenders, the grievance invokes a shooting at the residence days next the music’s drop that injured a safety defend — calling it “the 2024 equivalent of ‘Pizzagate’” — and cites two alternative tried trespassers within the days that adopted.
The go well with was once introduced in the name of Drake via Michael J. Gottlieb, a spouse on the company Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who has up to now represented the landlord of the Washington pizzeria centered via the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theorists and the election employees falsely accused via Rudolph W. Giuliani of helping a fraudelant plot to thieve the 2020 presidential election.
In a observation on Wednesday, Common Song Workforce known as the claims each unfaithful and “illogical,” pointing to its longstanding and a success trade courting with Drake.
“We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success,” the label mentioned. “Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”
Common added that it could struggle the case by itself behalf, in addition to to offer protection to “any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.”
In November, Drake had initiated pre-litigation actions towards Common in surrounding court docket in Brandnew York and Texas, naming Spotify and the radio conglomerate iHeartMedia as possible individuals in an elaborate scheme to advertise “Not Like Us” the use of bots and payola. On Tuesday, representatives for Drake withdrew the sooner submitting in Brandnew York towards Common and Spotify in partial of the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. A listening to within the Texas topic, which incorporates iHeartMedia, was once behind schedule till next this era.
The long-simmering pressure between Drake and Lamar, who had collaborated early of their careers, exploded into full-on musical red meat latter spring throughout 8 hastily exempt songs that incorporated escalating private assaults.
On one monitor, “Family Matters,” Drake wondered whether or not Lamar’s supervisor had secretly fathered one in every of his youngsters and alleged that Lamar had “beat on” his romantic spouse and lined it up. Quickly next, on “Meet the Grahams,” Lamar equated Drake with Harvey Weinstein, calling him a “pervert” and a “sick man” who “should die” to form the arena more secure for girls.
Please see era, Lamar exempt “Not Like Us,” which incorporates lyrics like “say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young,” calling the rapper and his workforce “certified pedophiles” who must “be registered and placed on neighborhood watch.”
The monitor — which, in step with Drake’s lawsuit, “cloaks cleverly dangerous lyrics behind a catchy beat and inviting hook” — went directly to lead the Billboard singles chart and has since been streamed a couple of billion instances on Spotify unloved. On the Grammy Awards upcoming era, “Not Like Us” is nominated for 5 awards, together with report and music of the future. Please see age, Lamar will headline the Tremendous Bowl halftime display in Brandnew Orleans.
“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the go well with says. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”
To turn out defamation, a people determine will have to now not most effective display that fraudelant knowledge was once revealed, broadcast or spoken, harming their popularity, however that the writer did so year realizing that the tips was once fraudelant or with really extensive doubts about its accuracy.
Pace Lamar would possibly not have met that normal as a defendant — “this lawsuit is not about a war of words between artists,” the go well with reiterates — it argues that Common don’t have been in trade with Drake since 2009 if it had reason why to consider that any allegations of intercourse abuse had been true.
However, as a possible reason for the corporate selling “Not Like Us” aggressively, it invokes commitment negotiations between Common and Lamar — who was once beneath a momentary offer with the corporate that was once prolonged past due latter future, in step with the go well with — in addition to with Drake, whose commitment is up for renegotiation this future.
“By devaluing Drake’s music and brand, UMG would gain leverage to force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG,” the go well with says.
Drake additionally accuses Common of enticing in questionable practices to advertise the music, as hinted at within the pre-litigation filings latter future, which sought to procure additional knowledge and saving related documentation indistinguishable to a possible case.
Consistent with the lawsuit, the label “and its agents further put a thumb on the scale by covertly offering financial incentives to third parties to deceptively stream the Recording on streaming platforms, to play the Recording on the radio, and to otherwise promote and endorse the Defamatory Material, all without ever publicly disclosing the payments.”
Following the incidents at his house, Drake tried to tell Common concerning the hurt the music was once inflicting, together with having to take away his younger son from his basic faculty “due to safety concerns,” in step with the lawsuit, however was once informed that he “would face humiliation if he brought legal action.”
