Drake alleges Universal inflated popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake alleged successful a tribunal filing Monday that Universal Music Group falsely pumped up nan fame connected Spotify and different streaming services of Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us, a opus that viciously attacked Drake amid a bitter feud betwixt nan 2 hip-hop superstars.

The petition successful a New York tribunal by nan rapper’s institution Frozen Moments LLC demands nan preservation and divulgence of accusation that mightiness beryllium grounds successful a imaginable suit against UMG, which is nan supplier for nan grounds labels of some Drake and Lamar.

In allegations that UMG calls “offensive and untrue,” nan filing says nan grounds institution “launched a run to manipulate and saturate nan streaming services and airwaves pinch a song, ‘Not Like Us,’ successful bid to make that opus spell viral, including by utilizing ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements.” It said nan institution and Spotify “have a long-standing, symbiotic business relationship” and alleges that UMG offered typical licensing rates to Spotify for nan song.

The petition besides says UMG has fired labor seen arsenic loyal to Drake “in an evident effort to conceal its schemes.”

Universal Music Group said successful a connection successful consequence that nan “suggestion that UMG would do thing to undermine immoderate of its artists is violative and untrue. We employment nan highest ethical practices successful our trading and promotional campaigns. No magnitude of contrived and absurd ineligible arguments successful this pre-action submission tin disguise nan truth that fans take nan euphony they want to hear.”

Not Like Us, nan wildly celebrated Lamar azygous released successful May arsenic portion of a flurry of duelling tracks by nan 2 artists, includes nan lyrics, “Say, Drake, I perceive you for illustration ’em young, You amended not ever spell to compartment artifact one.” It has gotten much than 900 cardinal plays, according to figures listed connected Spotify.

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Spotify representatives declined contiguous comment, but successful a connection connected a erstwhile case, nan institution said it “invests heavy successful automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate nan effect of artificial streaming connected our platform,” and successful broader nationalist statements has said it has gone to awesome lengths to mitigate nan effects of bad actors connected streaming numbers and royalties.

The feud betwixt Drake, a 38-year-old Canadian rapper and vocalist and five-time Grammy winner, and Lamar, a 37-year-old Pulitzer Prize victor who is group to header nan adjacent Super Bowl halftime, is among nan biggest successful hip-hop successful caller years, pinch 2 of nan genre’s biggest stars astatine its centre.

The 2 were occasional collaborators much than a decade ago, but Lamar began taking nationalist jabs astatine Drake starting successful 2013. The conflict escalated steeply earlier this year.

The move to court, while not yet a lawsuit, still represents a awesome escalation of nan feud and involves immoderate of nan biggest business partners of some men.