Drake claims he had to pull his son Adonis out of school over safety concerns in UMG lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed on January 15, 2025, rapper Drake accused Universal Music Group (UMG) of damaging his reputation by releasing Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us. He claimed that the song, part of their beef in 2024, led to safety concerns, forcing him to pull his son, Adonis, out of school.

Drake argued that UMG intentionally tried to make him a target for harassment or worse. The 80-page lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court.

Drizzy notably claimed that he had to pull his seven-year-old son Adonis out of school and relocate him and his mother out of Toronto, Canada due to a "palpable physical threat to Drake's safety" and a "bombardment of online harassment."

In his lawsuit, Drizzy explained that his decision came after a group of men allegedly fired at least two shots toward his Toronto home on May 7. One bullet hit the door and another seriously injured a security guard. The incident was followed by another attempt to break into the rapper's house on May 8. There were also two breaches by trespasses on May 9 and 11.

"These acts of violence against his residence, where Grahams lives with his son, and against his business, are not normal. In all the years he has been a celebrity, nothing like the events of early May has ever happened to Grahams before. He has increased his security team in Toronto and everywhere he goes," the lawsuit said.

According to Drake's legal team, all the attacks came during his rap feud with Kendrick Lamar. These incidents forced the rapper to strengthen security at his place and eventually relocate his mother and son.

---

Drake's accusations against UMG in his latest lawsuit explored

2017 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - Weekend 1 - Day 2 - Source: Getty

In his lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) filed on January 15, Drake accused them of attempting to damage his reputation by releasing and promoting Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us. UMG distributes both Drizzy and Lamar's record labels - Republic Records and Interscope Records, respectively.

Drake's lawsuit comes after the rapper had initially withdrawn his petition against UMG and Spotify where he accused them of illegally boosting the streams of Lamar's Not Like Us. His petition was originally filed in November 2024 but the rapper withdrew it on January 14. Yet, a day later he filed a lawsuit against his label accusing them of similar claims as his original petition.

He alleged that UMG used Not Like Us as leverage as the rapper's contract with UMG came to an end. Drizzy has had contracts with UMG since 2009 and last signed a reported $400 million worth contract with the label in 2022.

"UMG's contract with Grahams was nearing fulfillment, and on information and belief, UMG anticipated that extending his contract would be costly. By devaluing Grahams' music and brand, UMG would gain leverage to force him to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG," the lawsuit claimed.

The rapper's legal team also compared UMG to Interscope Records, a label under UMG that owns Kendrick Lamar's music catalog. According to Drizzy, Interscope Records allegedly signed an exclusive direct license agreement with Lamar's independent label in 2024.

The lawsuit claimed that Interscope "had every incentive to prove it could maximize Lamar’s sales after only recently persuading him to enter into his own direct license for a limited recording commitment of new music."

It is worth noting that Drake did not name Kendrick Lamar as a defendant in his lawsuit against UMG. The rapper made it clear that his “lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us.’ It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize” Lamar's diss track against him.

Further, Drizzy accused his own record label of spreading “false and dangerous” narratives about him by promoting Not Like Us. For those unaware, Lamar's monstrous hit took multiple digs at Drake while naming him. The lyrics accused him of alleged pedophilia as he referred to the rapper as a "certified pedophile." He rapped:

"Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young/ You better not ever go to cell block one/To any bi*ch that talk to him and they in love/Just make sure you hide your lil' sister from him."

65th GRAMMY Awards - Show - Source: Getty

Despite the “inflammatory and shocking allegations" in Not Like Us, Drizzy accused UMG of seeing the opportunity as a financial "gold mine." Drizzy further alleged that he has proof to show UMG allegedly paid third-party bots to increase the streams of Lamar's track by nearly 30 million.

Drake's team also accused UMG of playing a big role in Kendrick Lamar landing the chance to perform at the upcoming halftime show at the Super Bowl. This was another opportunity to promote Not Like Us during one of the biggest cultural events of the year, per the rapper.