Drake Sues His Own Label For ‘Inflating’ Sales Of Arch-Rival Kendrick Lamar’s Diss Track

In a move to that will deepen the feud between two rap titans, Drake has filed a lawsuit against his own label, Universal Music Group, for using illegal methods to promote the latest Kendrick Lamar diss track against him, “Not Like Us.”

According to legal documents, Drake claims the musical monolith used AI bots to promote the single, which was released this past May. The Toronto native said that the information was given to him from an “inside source” indicating that UMG breached FCC statutes in practicing payola, which is paying for airtime.

Under state law, the filing is considered a “pre-action,” which calls for a probe before a full suit is filed. According to official documents, UMG breached state law in its conduct, specifically the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Drake’s feud with Lamar dominated hip-hop headlines earlier this year. Yet, the documents reveal that UMG made “covert payments” to many organizations, including radio stations, to play the diss track aimed at him and that UMG has a checkered past regarding payola.

In court documents, Drake’s legal team discussed UMG’s association with unknown parties to use bots to artificially inflate the spread of “Not Like Us” and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it was.

According to the rapper, an insider revealed to him that UMG executives authorized the spending of funds on bots to boost the song’s Spotify totals, garnering 30 million streams and social media influencers to push the single, which includes inflammatory lyrics aimed at him. UMG also ignored enforcing copyright requirements via social media to make the track go viral.

Drake told the court that the issue could be the basis for a civil fraud and racketeering suit against UMG and its collaborators.

Drake’s legal team noted that in May 2006, UMG paid a $12 million fine to the New York State Attorney General to settle a probe into whether the company had used payola tactics to boost the music of artists, including Ashlee Simpson, Brian McKnight and Nick Lachay.

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