Universal Music Group is not holding back in responding to Drake’s lawsuit against them.
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After withdrawing his legal petition against Universal Music Group on Tuesday, Jan. 14, Drake returned with a vengeance the next day, suing his label for defamation and harassment on Wednesday. The rapper is accusing UMG of spreading the “false and malicious narrative” that he is a pedophile by distributing Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, “Not Like Us,” according to the lawsuit, via Variety.
In his complaint, the Canadian rapper claims that UMG knew Lamar’s lyrics and imagery in the song’s music video were false and dangerous, and that it “chose corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”
“UMG saw an opportunity, seized it, and continued to fan the flames,” the suit continues.
Now, Universal is responding to Drake’s allegations, pointing out how “illogical” it would be to purposefully defame their own artist.
“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical,” a UMG spokesperson said, according to Variety. “We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.”
The label goes on to point out that they’ve helped Drake to release his diss tracks in the past, saying the Toronto native “has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists.”
But, now that the tables have turned on him, he “seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”
“We have not and do not engage in defamation — against any individual,” the statement continues. “At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.”
Universal Music Group distributes both Kendrick Lamar’s and Drake’s music and has for the majority of both of their careers. Drake’s lawsuit claims that because his current deal with UMG is nearing the end of its term, the company is attempting to devalue his music to gain more favorable terms in a renegotiation.
While the Los Angeles native’s lyrics are pointed to heavily in the complaint, it does not place the blame on Kendrick, but on Universal for releasing, distributing, and promoting the song.
“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the suit emphasizes. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false but dangerous.”
