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Rapper Drake made the news after he suddenly withdrew the legal petition accusing Spotify and Universal Music of artificially inflating the streaming numbers of Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us. The rapper withdrew the case in New York on Tuesday, January 14.
The withdrawal came two months after the rapper filed the petition in November 2024 claiming that UMG and Spotify were allegedly involved in an unlawful "scheme" that allegedly used payola, bots, and other tactics to promote Lamar's song, which dissed Drake.
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Amidst all of these issues, the rapper uploaded a mirror selfie on his Instagram story on January 15, which garnered mixed reactions. The post, whose caption read “Dips forever” was re-uploaded on X on the same day.
Shortly after that, netizens shared their reactions to the selfie. One pointed at the caption and tried to figure out the meaning behind it.
“Is he merging duck + lips? And calling it dips???????” asked one X user sarcastically.
One X user said that Drake will probably give fewer hits in 2025.
“Drakes new year resolution is more fits and less hits all 2025,” sarcastically wrote another one.
“He had to dress up like a clown and post on IG again,” another X user said, criticizing.
On the other hand, many netizens supported the rapper as one claimed that he runs the music industry while another wrote that his outfit looked like a “work of art.”
“This guy will forever run the music industry,” said one X user.
“He owns the music industry easily,” wrote one X user.
“That outfit is a work of art,” said another one.
Drake withdrew the petition against UMG and Spotify for some unknown reason
Less than two months after he initially launched the lawsuit, Drake withdrew his claims against Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG). As per Billboard the rapper has not given any reasons for the move.
In November 2024, multiple Grammy-winning artist claimed that UMG manipulated the streaming figures for Not Like Us by allegedly utilizing payola and bots. The track in question, which allegedly accused Drake of cultural appropriation and ped*philia, has been distributed by UMG.
As per a BBC report from January 14, the court documents stated:
“The record-shattering spread of Not Like Us on streaming, sales, and radio play was deliberate and appears to have relied upon irregular and inappropriate business practices”
Moreover, as per Billboard’s January 15 report, UMG has not responded to the accusations. However, last month, Spotify allegedly responded, calling the accusations "false" and categorically denying that it had any agreement with UMG to reportedly promote Lamar's song.
In the meantime, Variety's January 14 report claimed that they had received a statement from Drake's legal team in response to Spotify. It read:
“It is not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one of its other artists..."
It continued:
"If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request.”
On the other hand, the Family Matters singer's petition withdrawal was not opposed by Spotify. Meanwhile, Universal had reserved its position on the matter, as it did not file an opposition.
