Drake is suing the record label Universal Music Group (UMG) because of the song “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar. The suit is saying UMG promoted the song heavily and promoted a false statement in the song against Drake calling him a “pedophile” as well as other things.

The song “Not Like Us” is a diss track against Drake created by Lamar. According to NBC News, Drake is suing UMG for spreading “false and malicious narrative.” “Not Like Us” calls Drake a certified pedophile since there are many rumors calling Drake a pedophile however nothing has been proven. UMG spread “Not Like Us” in many ways. According to NBC News,”It alleges that UMG offered ‘financial incentives’ to third parties to stream the song and promote it. The label also removed copyright restrictions, which allowed content creators to play the song in their videos”. NBC News also reported, “It further alleges that UMG used ‘bots’ to play the song and boost its popularity.” Drake’s lawsuit argued UMG promoted the song to get more listens and streams to ultimately get more money. Another claim mentioned was that UMG is trying to devalue Drake’s music since his contract is coming up soon so they don’t need to pay as much and this gives UMG more leverage in the contract.

Drake tried to settle the lawsuit privately with UMG, but they would not agree and said that Drake would “face humiliation” if he tried to sue them. Their counter argument is that Drake makes music for rap battles to express how he feels about other artists. According to NBC News, UMG accuses Drake of “weaponizing the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.” UMG also said they don’t engage in defamation against anyone. They also said they would defend their people and their reputation and any other artist for just writing a song.

According to the lawsuit, Drake stated that he is scared for his safety and has even pulled his son out of school. His concern for his safety comes from many things happening after the song, like an armed group of people drove to Drake’s home and one opened fire and injured a security guard, the lawsuit alleges on May 7, 2024. The next day, a different intruder tried to dig a hole under the home’s security fence. In addition, there was another break in attempt on May 9, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit uses these instances as saying the song led to real world consequences because nothing like this has ever happened to Drake before this song.

“Not Like Us” dropped on May 4, 2024, which was Lamar’s fifth diss track against Drake and was dropped because they are in a rap battle. Drake and Lamar at first were collaborators, but changed from friends to foes when in 2013 Lamar voiced his dislike of Drake and escalated in 2024.

“Not Like Us” became popular because of its beat, catchy lyrics, and its hit lyric “gonna strike a chord and it’s probably a minor.” The song won five Grammys, including Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, and Best Rap Performance.