UMG reposts Kendrick Lamar and SZA's tour announcement amid Drake's favoritism allegations

2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - Weekend 1 - Day 1 - Source: Getty — Kendrick Lamar and SZA at 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - Weekend 1 - Day 1 (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

On December 3, Universal Music Group (UMG) reposted Kendrick Lamar's Instagram post announcing the Grand National Tour amid their ongoing legal issue with Drake.

The Canadian rapper recently filed two pre-action petitions against UMG alleging that UMG partnered with Spotify, Apple, and iHeartMedia to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us.

The first petition claims that UMG and Spotify violated RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) act and manipulated the streaming numbers of Not Like Us by employing online bots and payolas. The second pre-action petition alleged the involvement of iHeartMedia and filed for defamation against UMG. Notably, UMG distributes the works of both Drizzy and Kendrick Lamar.

Grand National Tour 2025 will be the first all-stadium tour co-headlined by Kendrick Lamar and SZA and is scheduled to commence on April 19, 2025. The tour will consist of 21 shows across the United States and Canada and will conclude on June 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Tickets for the show will go on sale from December 6, with presales running for two days before December 6.

Kendrick and SZA are also scheduled to perform in Toronto as part of the Grand National Tour. On June 12, the two are scheduled to perform in 6 God's hometown.

The full schedule for the Grand National Tour is as follows:

April 19 – Minneapolis, at U.S. Bank Stadium
April 23 – Houston, Texas at NRG Stadium
April 26 – Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium
April 29 – Atlanta at Mercedes Benz Stadium
May 3 – Charlotte, N.C. at Bank of America Stadium
May 5 – Philadelphia, Pa. at Lincoln Financial Field
May 8 – East Rutherford, N.J. at MetLife Stadium
May 9 – East Rutherford, N.J. at MetLife Stadium
May 12 – Foxborough, Mass. at Gillette Stadium
May 17 – Seattle at Lumen Field
May 21 – Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium
May 23 – Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium
May 27 – Glendale, Arizona at State Farm Stadium
May 29 – San Francisco, California at Oracle Park
May 31 – Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium
June 4 – St. Louis, Mo. at The Dome at America’s Center
June 6 – Chicago at Soldier Field
June 10 – Detroit at Ford Field
June 12 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada at Rogers Centre
June 16 – Hershey, Pa. at Hersheypark Stadium
June 18 – Washington, D.C. at Northwest Stadium

The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar explored

Drake at LA Premiere Of HBO's "Euphoria" - Arrivals (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The ongoing feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has been the most talked about topic among hip-hop fans. The feud, which has been going on for years peaked in the middle of 2024.

The relationship between Drake and Kendrick Lamar began on favorable terms, with the two titans collaborating on songs like Buried Alive Interlude (2011) and Poetic Justice (2012) at the beginning of their careers. K Dot even headlined the opening act of Drake's Club Paradise Tour (2012).

Their feud started in earnest in 2013 when Kendrick Lamar fired shots at Drizzy and other rappers on Big Sean's Control. However, the Compton rapper downplayed the diss, stating that he meant it as part of a 'friendly competition.'

Subsequently, on March 22, 2024, Kendrick Lamar dissed Drake and J. Cole in Like That. It was a reply to the latter's song First Person Shooter (2023) in which J. Cole referred to himself, Kendrick Lamar, and Drizzy as part of a 'big three.'

In April, Drizzy dissed Lamar in his tracks Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle. However, the rapper was forced to take down the latter after late rapper Tupac Shakur's estate filed a copyright claim against the rapper due to AI-generated vocals of Shakur. Lamar dropped Euphoria and 6.16 in LA as a response to Drake's diss tracks.

However, the feud reached its peak when Drake dropped Family Matters on May 3, accusing Kendrick of domestic violence and claiming that one of K Dot's children is fathered by Dave Free. In response, Lamar released Meet the Grahams within an hour.

The track is written in the form of a letter addressing Drake's family members, including his son Adonis, and parents Dennis and Sandra Graham. Lamar accused Drizzy of s*xual predation and alleged that the Canadian rapper was fathering a secret child.

Lamar followed it up with Not Like Us the very next day. The track zeroed in on the claims made in Meet the Grahams and further called Drizzy a "certified p*dophile."

Drake responded to the allegations by dropping The Heart Part 6 on May 5. In the song, he denied the allegations and claimed that Lamar's team was fed false information about Drizzy fathering a secret child.

The pre-action petitions filed by Drake against UMG add yet another chapter to the feud between the two juggernauts of the hip-hop world.

Edited by Ameen Fatima