Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef completely dominated the summer and continues to escalate without any signs of slowing down. While Hip-Hop fans continue to argue over who won the high-profile feud, the consensus seems to favor Kendrick as victorious. Interestingly, a new development has emerged as Drake is taking this rap beef from the radio to the court system.
Legal Petition
In a shocking twist, Drake’s company, Frozen Moments LLC, has filed a legal petition that accuses Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of serious wrongdoing. The filing was made in a Manhattan court on November 25th with Frozen Moments LLC accusing UMG of tampering with Kendrick’s streaming numbers. Released in May 2024, the song, Not Like Us, remains the highlight of the rappers’ ongoing beef due to its mainstream success. As a result, Kendrick broke streaming records as the song garnered 96 million streams in first-week sales and is currently sitting at nearly 900 million in total streams.
Stream Manipulation
Despite its success, Frozen Moments LLC alleges that UMG and Spotify inflated these numbers by using payola, bots, and other methods. Accordingly, they believe both UMG and Spotify tampered with the numbers to manipulate the streaming landscape. Additionally, Drake’s legal team accuses UMG of deliberately manipulating Kendrick’s song, Not Like Us, to push it to the top of the charts.
Instead of following conventional business tactics or generating organic success, UMG allegedly created a calculated campaign of sales tampering to dominate the airwaves and streaming services. As claimed by the rapper’s team, this deliberate effort attempted to manipulate public perception and artificially inflate the popularity of Not Like Us at the same time.
UMG History and Relationship
Specifically, the allegations accuse UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Likewise, they believe that UMG engages in false advertising and deceptive business practices under the state law of New York. Besides Kendrick, this legal action reveals the turmoil between Drake and UMG. Surprisingly, the music company has shared close ties with the rapper throughout his career.
At first, Drake was signed with Lil Wayne’s label, Young Money, before directly signing with Republic Records, which once distributed Young Money. In addition to Drake, Kendrick also has a long-standing relationship with UMG. Similarly, Kendrick began his career under TDE with distribution by Interscope. Afterward, he’d established his own company, licensed through Interscope, called pgLang.
“Pre-Action” Petition
The filing by Drake’s team is a “pre-action” petition, a procedural step, to gather information before a possible lawsuit. Regardless of the names, these types of petitions don’t necessarily mean that all parties mentioned will be targeted. Notably, the petition appears to target UMG rather than Spotify and Kendrick primarily. Responding to the allegations, UMG denied any wrongdoing by emphasizing their engagement in ethical practices in promotional and marketing campaigns. Moreover, they asserted that these allegations are baseless and that the fans ultimately determine the success of music. On another note, while named in the petition, Spotify declined to speak on these allegations.
Drake’s Issues with UMG
According to the petition, Drake’s attorneys accuse UMG of charging Spotify reduced licensing rates to promote Kendrick’s song. Allegedly, the scheme marketed the song to Spotify users who searched for unrelated artists or songs. Moreover, the team believes that social influencers across various social media platforms were paid to promote Not Like Us, and,,,,,,,, that UMG hired bots to increase the song’s popularity artificially.
Allegedly, UMG reached out to Apple Music to manipulate Siri’s responses. This potential manipulation caused users who searched for Drake’s album, Certified Lover Boy, to find Kendric’s song instead. Accordingly, Drake’s attorneys suggest internal corporate dynamics played a major part in UMG’s potential sabotage in promoting Kendrick’s song. To be precise, UMG’s Interscope division’s executives are pushed to maximize their own profits. In this case, promoting Not Like Us increases Interscope’s financial success.
Furthermore, Drake’s team claims that UMG was aware of the rapper’s issues before any legal action was taken. In addition, they said the company refuses accountability, not holding itself to blame for its own actions. Instead, UMG allegedly attempted to hide its wrongdoing, even firing staff members, who were perceived as loyal to the rapper. However, UMG denied these allegations, citing their ethical employment practices and marketing campaigns.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, pursuing legal action against UMG may be a double-edged sword regardless of Drake’s intention. Even if the rapper’s grievance against the company was legitimate, the perception among Hip-Hop may not be in his favor. The rap game has always had a negative view of the judicial system and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. According to many Hip-Hop fans, Drake’s pursuit of legal action proves that he’s unable to handle the loss in the back-and-forth disses. What happens after the lawsuit is up in the air, but one thing is certain – the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar isn’t ending anytime soon.
