How long has Drake been with UMG? Record label claims it helped rapper achieve "historic commercial and personal financial success"

Drake sent shockwaves through the music industry after he filed a defamation lawsuit against his record label, Universal Music Group (UMG), on January 15. In the suit, filed in a New York district court, the Canadian rapper has accused the label of defaming him by promoting Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us.

This came after the two rappers were engaged in a contentious rap battle in April and May 2024, which came to an end after the overwhelming success of Not Like Us. In the track, Lamar dubbed the Canadian rapper a "certified p*dophile" among other accusations, which the lawsuit claimed were “inflammatory and shocking allegations.”

UMG countered the rapper's lawsuit with a public statement that called the defamation suit "illogical" and "frivolous." It also stated the company helped the Canadian rapper throughout his career.

“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical. 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.”

Drake has been affiliated with UMG since his career began in 2009. The rapper was first signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, an imprint of Cash Money Records, which UMG's Republic Records distributed.

In May 2022, UMG's CEO Lucian Grainge announced the company had re-signed a multi-faceted deal with the Canadian rapper that amounted to an estimated $400 million, as reported by Complex.

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UMG claimed Drake's suit is aiming to silence an artist's "creative expression"

Months after the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar ended, the Canadian rapper shook the hip-hop industry by filing two petitions against UMG, Spotify, and iHeartRadio regarding Lamar's track Not Like Us. One petition, filed in November 2024, accused UMG of colluding with the other companies to "artificially inflate" the track using bots.

In the other petition, he claimed UMG defamed him by allowing Lamar to release the diss track, which allegedly contained false accusations about him. On January 15, the Canadian rapper escalated the legal battle by filing a defamation lawsuit against UMG.

In his suit, the 6 God claimed the record label pushed a “false and malicious narrative” against him with Not Like Us, alleging the song derailed his reputation and endangered his life. The suit also alleged the record label did so to profit from "damaging" the rapper's reputation, citing his contract with UMG nearing its end as one of the reasons.

"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 suit claimed.

In response, Universal Music Group pointed out that Drake had often engaged in rap beef with other artists, which involved severe accusations against his opponents. The company accused the Canadian rapper of trying to "weaponize the legal process" for his gain.

“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.”

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UMG said it will defend its artists from becoming "a frivolous litigation target"

Drake's lawsuit repeatedly emphasized that the rapper was not taking legal action against Kendrick Lamar but only seeking to hold UMG responsible for distributing Not Like Us after allegedly knowing it to be false. The suit claimed the record label “chose corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists."

However, the company retorted that it did not "engage in defamation" against any of its artists. The statement added that the label was ready to protect any artist under its banner from becoming "a frivolous litigation target."

“We have not and do not engage in defamation—against any individual. At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.”

For the unversed, Kendrick Lamar has been signed to UMG since 2020. However, he is signed to Interscope Records, a different imprint from Drake's. Not Like Us was distributed through Universal Music Group, becoming an instant hit and breaking several records.

Drizzy's previous petitions had alleged that the song's success was not organic, accusing UMG and Spotify of boosting it using payola and bots. However, the Canadian rapper dismissed the petition on January 14 by voluntarily withdrawing it "without costs to any party."

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Drake has yet to respond to UMG's statement at the time of this article.