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On Tuesday (January 14), Drake and his legal team withdrew their initial petition against UMG and Spotify, which accused the companies of conspiring against him by artificially inflating the streaming numbers of Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us diss track.
In court documents regarding Drake's decision to withdraw his pre-action petition, filed in November, the rapper's legal team stated:
"Petitioner hereby voluntarily discontinues this special proceeding as to all Respondents without costs to any party. Plaintiffs met and conferred with Respondents on January 14, 2025, regarding this filing."
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While his second pre-action petition, filed in Houston citing claims of "pay-to-play" schemes between UMG and iHeartRadio, was still pending, many believed the Canadian rapper had officially stepped away from the legal situation.
That was until early Wednesday morning, when Drizzy and his legal team filed a new lawsuit against UMG for defamation in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on January 15, 2025.
The Canadian rapper's latest lawsuit finds him seeking compensation and punitive damages from UMG for allegedly publishing and promoting Not Like Us, while aware that the diss track contained supposed defamatory claims against him and his personal life.
Breaking down all the claims made in Drake's defamation lawsuit against UMG
While Kendrick Lamar has not been named as a defendant in this lawsuit, UMG did respond to Drizzy's latest accusations calling them "untrue" and "illogical," stating:
"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."
According to his filing, Drake claims that UMG was aware of the negative lyrics and imagery portrayed in the Not Like Us music video and diss track, claiming the record label "chose corporate greed over the safety and security of its artists".
While Kendrick's lyricism remains a major talking point in this case, the entire lawsuit targets UMG for "releasing, distributing, and promoting" the record.
His legal team claims the label wished to monetize allegations they knew were not only false but dangerous, with references to a drive-by shooting at Drake's mansion in Canada, in May 2024, where a security guard was shot and injured.
Below is a complete breakdown of the allegations that Drake has brought against UMG about Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us, as confirmed from the court filings from January 15, 2025:
1) Kendrick Lamar's "Predatory Allegations"
The court filings find Drake's legal team claiming that Not Like Us repeatedly accuses the Canadian rapper and his OVO entourage of actively engaging in several criminal acts.
The document also references exact lines and lyrics from Kendrick's verse which claim that Drizzy has a "predilection for underage women," as seen in bars like:
"Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young / You better not ever go to cell block one / To any b***h that talk to him and they in love / Just make sure you hide your lil' sister from him"
2) Kendrick Lamar's 'A-Minor' double entendre
The document goes on to reference the final line of Kendrick Lamar's first verse, where he uses a double entendre to take further shots at Drake with alleged claims of pedophilia.
Following a play on words, where Kendrick substitutes the name of Drizzy's 2021 album, Certified Lover Boy, for "Certified Pedophiles," the Compton native references the music chord A-Minor.
In the final line of his first verse, Kendrick uses the "A-Minor" reference to double down on previous claims of the OVO CEO allegedly being involved with underage women.
"Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles... Why you trollin' like a b***h? Ain't you tired? / Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor," Kendrick Lamar raps on 'Not Like Us'.
The document also references lyrics from later in the song where Kendrick Lamar claims that Drizzy and his entourage should be served a "subpoena" for allegedly being predators.
The bar ends with Lamar claiming that all individuals from OVO should be registered as s*xual predators and be placed on "neighborhood watch".
"And your homeboy need subpoena, that predator move in flocks / That name gotta be registered and placed on neighborhood watch," Kendrick Lamar raps on 'Not Like Us'.
3) Kendrick Lamar threatens Drake's safety
According to Drizzy and his legal team, multiple bars on Not Like Us are seemingly fueled by threats and intentions to cause physical harm to Drake.
From Kendrick yelling "Wop, Wop, Wop," to him claiming that Drizzy would not make it out alive if he came to Oakland for a concert, these claims are easily evidenced on lines like:
"Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop, Dot, fu*k 'em up / Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop, I'ma do my stuff... You think the Bay gon' let you disrespect Pac, n***a? / I think that Oakland show gon' be your last stop, n***a"
4) Kendrick Lamar attacks OVO and hit records
Drake also claims that Kendrick Lamar targeted his October's Very Own brand, also known as OVO, supposedly making "vulgar" accusations about the label and company's real intentions, referencing lines like:
"You n****s'll get a wedgie, be flipped over your boxers / What OVO for? The "Other Vaginal Option"? P***y... Let me hear you say, "OV-ho" (OV-ho) / Say, "OV-ho" (OV-ho)"
The document also suggests that Lamar hinted at revealing more "secrets" about Drizzy's personal life, threatening to release further allegations proving his claims of the Canadian rapper being a "liar".
This was seen in the final line of Not Like Us, where Kendrick targets hit records, like Family Matters and God's Plan, before attacking the Canadian rapper's Jewish heritage on the song's hook, rapping:
"No, you not a colleague, you a fu*kin' colonizer / The family matter and the truth of the matter / It was God's plan to show y'all the liar"
5) The 'Not Like Us' cover art
Drake's legal team also alleges that UMG approved and sanctioned the use of a defamatory cover art for Kendrick Lamar's No.1 diss track.
The image used for Not Like Us is an aerial picture of the Canadian rapper's mansion, The Embassy, which has been edited to resemble the public safety applications on registries that identify s*xual offenders living in a residential colony.
"UMG also published an accompanying image on May 4, 2024, to YouTube, YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Tidal, SoundCloud, Audiomack, Napster, Qobuz, Last.fm, Deezer, the UMPG website, and Meta and TikTok. Any person who views, listens to, or streams the Recording on any one of these platforms can view the image," Drake's legal team stated.
Other claims brought forward in Drake's defamation lawsuit against UMG suggest the label was aware of prior threats and violent situations following the release of Not Like Us but still approved publishing the diss track's music video on July 4, 2024.
