Drake has filed a second legal complaint regarding “Not Like Us,” this time adding iHeartRadio to his list of alleged offenders and raising the possibility of suing for defamation related to the Kendrick Lamar diss track.
On Tuesday, November 26, Billboard reported that Drake had submitted a second “pre-action” petition, which is a request for specific information from the court before initiating a lawsuit. This petition, unlike the first one that became public the day before, was filed in Texas, while the initial petition was filed in New York.
In addition, Drizzy claims that UMG released K.Dot’s now-Grammy-nominated song despite knowing that the track “falsely accus[es] him of being a sex offender.” The petition says that the Canadian superstar now has enough evidence to bring a defamation claim against the company.
The earlier petition, filed on Monday (November 25) in a Manhattan court, alleges that UMG employed bots, payola, and other tactics to artificially boost Kendrick’s chart-topping song.
“UMG did not utilize chance or ordinary business practices,” the documents state. “Instead, it initiated a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
The filing also claims that the label paid Spotify to promote “Not Like Us” to users searching for unrelated songs and artists. Additionally, it alleges that UMG paid Apple to have Siri intentionally redirect users requesting songs from Drake’s catalog, instead offering “Not Like Us.” Furthermore, it asserts that the company used bots to inflate the song’s streaming numbers.
Drake requested the court to compel UMG and Spotify to collect all relevant documents in advance of an upcoming lawsuit.
Universal Music Group has responded to Drake’s claims about the alleged and “artificial” inflation of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”
A UMG rep told @Variety: “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.”
