Why Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s Feud Just Took a Surprising Turn
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Drake is taking his feud with Kendrick Lamar retired of the dependable booth.
Six months aft Kendrick dropped his diss way "Not Like Us," the Canadian rapper—whose sanction is Aubrey Graham—accused Universal Music Group and Spotify of "artificially inflating" the song's popularity, according to tribunal documents obtained by E! News.
The pre-action petition, which was filed by Drake's Frozen Moments LLC successful Manhattan Nov. 25, accused UMG of engaging successful "schemes" to inflate the tune's popularity, hiring "unknown 3rd parties to usage 'bots' to promote" the opus and paying vigor stations to "increase airplay."
"UMG did not trust connected chance, oregon adjacent mean concern practices, to 'break done the noise,'" the filing claimed. "It alternatively launched a run to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, 'Not Like Us,' successful bid to marque that opus spell viral."
The pre-petition—which is simply a process nether New York State instrumentality earlier filing a lawsuit—also accused UMG of charging Spotify "30 percent little than its accustomed licensing rate" for the opus "in speech for Spotify affirmatively recommending the Song to users who are searching for different unrelated songs and artists."
Drake's attorneys accused UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which is often utilized successful cases involving organized crime. They besides accused UMG of deceptive concern practices and mendacious advertising, on with giving "financial benefits" to Spotify and "other chartless 3rd parties to beforehand and play the Song and Video without disclosing those payments."
The petition claimed that UMG's "schemes" were motivated "at slightest successful part, by the tendency of executives astatine Interscope to maximize their ain profits."
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Drake's ineligible squad claimed successful the filing that they had contacted UMG to resoluteness the issue.
"UMG has demonstrated that it has nary involvement successful taking work for its misconduct," the filing alleged. "Over the past respective months, Drake has repeatedly sought to prosecute UMG successful discussions to resoluteness the ongoing harm helium has suffered arsenic a effect of UMG's actions. UMG refused to prosecute successful negotiations, and insisted that UMG is not liable for its ain actions."
UMG vehemently denied the claims. "The proposition that UMG would bash thing to undermine immoderate of its artists is violative and untrue," a typical said successful a connection to Variety. "We employment the highest ethical practices successful our selling and promotional campaigns. No magnitude of contrived and absurd ineligible arguments successful this pre-action submission tin disguise the information that fans take the euphony they privation to hear."
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E! News has reached retired to UMG, Spotify, reps for Kendrick and reps for Drake for comment, but has not yet heard back.
Drake's filing comes a twelvemonth aft his feud with the "HUMBLE" rapper began erstwhile helium and J. Colereleased their October 2023 track, successful which they implied the 3 of them were the champion rappers successful modern hip-hop. Kendrick, 37, wasn't a instrumentality of that notion, releasing "Like That," wherever helium dissed that duo, noting, "motherf--k the large three, it's conscionable large me."
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Cole, 39, past shared his solo way "7 Minute Drill" successful April, portion the OVO founder, 38, took much jabs astatine Kendrick, Future and much with "Push Up" and the now-deleted "Taylor Made Freestyle." But the Compton-native rapper went each successful with his May opus "Not Like Us," successful which helium called Drake a "pedophile." Drake past released "The Heart Part 6," wherever helium seemingly denied the claims, rapping, "Drake is not a sanction that you gonna spot connected nary enactment offenders list."
And portion Drake isn't bowing retired anytime soon, J. Cole wasn't funny successful continuing the beef.
"When I perceive to ['7 Minute Drill'], that s--t don't beryllium close with my spirit," helium told fans portion connected signifier astatine his Dreamville Festival successful April, earlier calling the opus "the lamest s--t I ever did successful my f--king life."
Now, support speechmaking to spot much celebrated personage feuds.