UPDATE (March 17):
Drake’s authorized staff has offered the next assertion to XXL in response to UMG asking that the rapper’s defamation lawsuit be dismissed.
“UMG desires to fake that that is a few rap battle with a purpose to distract its shareholders, artists and the general public from a easy reality: a grasping firm is lastly being held liable for benefiting from harmful misinformation that has already resulted in a number of acts of violence,” the assertion reads. “This movement is a determined ploy by UMG to keep away from accountability, however we have now each confidence that this case will proceed and proceed to uncover UMG’s lengthy historical past of endangering and abusing its artists.”
ORIGINAL STORY (March 17):
Common Music Group has filed a movement to dismiss Drake’s federal defamation lawsuit.
UMG Desires Drake Lawsuit Thrown Out
In accordance with court docket paperwork obtained by XXL on Monday (March 17), UMG desires a choose to throw out Drizzy’s case, which accuses the corporate of defaming the rap star by distributing Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” a track that refers to Drake as a toddler predator. UMG calls Drake a keen participant within the rap battle who’s mad as a result of the result didn’t end up in his favor.
“Plaintiff, one of the profitable recording artists of all time, misplaced a rap battle that he provoked and through which he willingly participated,” the submitting reads. “As a substitute of accepting the loss just like the unbothered rap artist he usually claims to be, he has sued his personal file label in a misguided try to salve his wounds. Plaintiff’s Criticism is completely with out benefit and needs to be dismissed with prejudice.”
UMG additionally makes use of Drake’s lyrics towards him. The submitting quotes lyrics from Drake’s Kendrick Lamar diss “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the place Drake taunted Okay-Dot into participating in a rap battle by utilizing the AI voices of different rappers. Particularly, Drake utilizing the voice of the late Tupac Shakur and rapping, “We want a no-debated West Coast victory, man/ Name him a b***h for me/Discuss him likin’ younger women, that’s a present from me/Heard it on the Budden Podcast, it’s gotta be true.”
Drake sued UMG for defamation again in January after submitting two pre-action petitions towards UMG in court docket in New York and Texas final November. The court docket filings accuse the corporate of colluding with Spotify and iHeartMedia to artificially inflate “Not Like Us” via bots and payola. Drake has since dropped the authorized motion in New York. He lately settled with iHeartMedia within the Texas case after they agreed to ship paperwork that proved their innocence.
XXL has reached out to Drake’s legal professional for remark.
