Drake takes legal action over Kendrick Lamar’s ’false’ sex offender accusation
Drake has launched legal action against his and Kendrick Lamar’s label UMG, claiming the Humble rapper ‘falsely’ accused him of being a ‘sex offender’.
This comes days after the One Dance singer filed against UMG and Spotify, accusing them of illegally boosting the popularity of Lamar’s track Not Like Us.
The rappers have long been at odds but their beef took a twist earlier this year with the rapid release of multiple diss tracks aimed at each other.
Drake, 38, has reportedly named Not Like Us in his new pre-action filing, claiming the lyrics ‘falsely’ accuse him of being a ‘sex offender’.
In particular the lyrics ‘Certified Lover Boy? Certified paedophiles’, where Lamar, real name Kendrick Duckworth, appears to allude to his rival.
The legal documents accuse UMG of knowing the accusatory contents of Lamar’s song but failed to prevent it from being released.
Drake’s lawyers claim in the pre-action petition: ‘Before it approved the release of the song, UMG knew that the song itself, as well as its accompanying album art and music video, attacked the character of another one of UMG’s most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harbouring sex offenders and committing other criminal sexual acts.’
Lamar is not named as a respondent or accused of wrongdoing over the controversial track, on which he is listed as the sole lyricist.
‘UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,’ Drake’s lawyers wrote according to Billboard.
They continued: ‘But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn Not Like Us into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.’
Both this and the Spotify case, which was filed in New York on Monday, are not a lawsuit but a pre-filing which aims to gather more information from UMG and iHeart.
Drake’s case suggests they paid for Not Like Us to be pushed excessively both on streaming services and on the radio.
In a statement, UMG responded: ‘The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns.
‘No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.’
In Not Like Us, Lamar made multiple references to the 37-year-old singer’s alleged interactions with younger women, spitting: ‘Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young.’
Lamar is not personally named in the pre-filing (Picture: Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon Music, & Free Lunch)
Drake called the accusations false (Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
At the time of release, the Trust Issues singer directly addressed the paedophile claims on his own track as he rebuffed: ‘I never been with no one underage but now I understand why this the angle that you really mess with.
‘Just for clarity, I feel disgusted, I’m too respected/ If I was f**king young girls, I promise I’d have been arrested.’
Drake also made unsavoury comments about Lamar in the torrent of diss tracks, accusing him of domestic violence and claiming his son wasn’t biologically his.
Neither artist has pursued direct legal action against the other regarding the contents of the songs.
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