Drake has expanded his lawsuit towards Common Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar’s diss observe Not Like Us, alleging that he was defamed by Lamar’s half–time efficiency on the 2025 Tremendous Bowl.
With lyrics together with “Say Drake, I hear you want ’em younger … licensed lover boy? Licensed paedophile,” Lamar’s observe was one in all plenty of diss tracks issued by the rappers towards one another in spring 2024. Not Like Us turned essentially the most commercially profitable, reaching No 1 within the US and UK, and it additionally received Lamar 5 Grammy awards together with document and track of the yr.
In January Drake sued UMG, the label that he and Lamar share, over the track, alleging UMG “accredited, printed and launched a marketing campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap observe” that was “supposed to convey the particular, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a legal paedophile, and to recommend that the general public ought to resort to vigilante justice in response”. UMG argued the case was “completely with out advantage” and referred to as for it to be dismissed.
Drake’s authorized workforce have now amended the lawsuit with new allegations, claiming that the Tremendous Bowl efficiency, which was the most-watched half-time present ever, “additional solidified the general public’s perception within the reality of the allegations towards Drake … Not solely did streams of the recording enhance considerably following these two mega-cultural occasions, however threats towards Drake and his household did as effectively.”
Lamar omitted the phrases “licensed paedophile” from the efficiency, however included the “I hear you want ’em younger” line, delivered whereas staring into the digicam in a second that was extensively shared on social media. The omission was made, the lawsuit claims, as a result of “everybody understands that it’s defamatory to falsely model somebody a ‘licensed paedophile’”. Lamar isn’t being sued by Drake, solely UMG.
UMG responded to the amendments by saying: “Drake, unquestionably one of many world’s most completed artists and with whom we’ve loved a 16-year profitable relationship, is being misled by his authorized representatives into taking one absurd authorized step after one other.”
Drake secured a small victory within the ongoing case earlier this month, when a choose allowed his workforce to entry sure UMG paperwork as they constructed their case, a course of generally known as “discovery” which UMG had tried to dam.
Alongside their assertion in regards to the amendments, UMG addressed that call, saying: “Drake will personally be topic to discovery as effectively. Because the outdated saying goes, ‘watch out what you would like for’.”
Drake’s workforce then responded in form, saying: “Drake is aware of precisely what he requested for: the reality and accountability.”
Elsewhere on the Tremendous Bowl present, Serena Williams – who reportedly as soon as dated Drake – danced on stage to Not Like Us, an look which was perceived by some viewers as mocking Drake. Requested by Time journal this week whether or not that was the case, Williams mentioned: “Completely not. I’d by no means try this. And that was unhappy, that anybody would ever assume that. I respect how they might … However completely not. I’ve by no means had detrimental emotions in direction of him. We’ve recognized him for therefore a few years.”
Drake and Lamar are additionally at the moment locked in one other battle, for the highest of the US singles chart. Lamar’s observe Luther, that includes SZA, has been at No 1 for eight weeks, however Drake’s observe Nokia has returned to the No 2 spot this week.
