Drake isn’t holding back in his latest legal battle with Universal Music Group (UMG).
The Toronto rapper has filed a petition in New York State Supreme Court, accusing his label of orchestrating a scheme to inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us using bots, pay-to-play deals, and deceptive practices. According to the filing, UMG worked with Spotify, Apple, and others to ensure the track dominated charts and streams—at Drake’s expense.
The petition claims UMG slashed Spotify licensing fees by 30 percent in exchange for Not Like Us being recommended more frequently. Allegedly, bots helped the song achieve 30 million streams within its first few days, a tactic revealed in a podcast referenced in the filing. Meanwhile, Apple’s Siri reportedly directed users asking to play Drake’s Certified Lover Boy to Lamar’s Not Like Us instead, which contains lyrics accusing Drake of harboring “certified pedophiles” in his entourage.
The allegations don’t stop there. Drake says UMG paid influencers to promote Not Like Us without disclosure and financed extra airplay on radio stations. The complaint describes the strategy as a deliberate move to boost profits by making Lamar’s track go viral while tarnishing Drake’s reputation.
It raises questions about whether Not Like Us’s cultural dominance this summer was truly organic—or just a product of behind-the-scenes engineering. The idea that one of the year’s biggest hits might owe its success to bots rather than fans makes its impact feel a little less authentic.
UMG has denied the allegations, calling them “offensive and untrue.” In a statement, a spokesperson said, “Fans choose the music they want to hear. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments can change that.” Spotify declined to comment.
This isn’t the first time Drake has clashed with UMG. Earlier this year, his legal team dropped a case accusing the label of using similar tactics with iHeartRadio. Now, Drake is accusing UMG of defamation, arguing the company ignored the harm Lamar’s lyrics caused to his reputation. Although Lamar hasn’t been named in the lawsuits, the filings suggest UMG prioritized Lamar’s career over Drake’s for financial gain. Both artists are under the UMG umbrella—Drake through Republic and his label OVO Sound, and Lamar through Interscope.
The timing of the lawsuit is striking. Lamar’s surprise album GNX dropped just days before the filings, continuing to generate buzz. Meanwhile, Not Like Us remains a juggernaut, smashing records with over 900 million Spotify streams and earning multiple Grammy nominations.
Drake’s petition, which seeks pre-action discovery, stops short of a full lawsuit but signals more legal drama ahead. If successful, the case could bring fresh scrutiny to how music labels leverage streaming platforms and digital tools to dominate the industry.
Featured Image courtesy of Amy Sussman/Getty Images
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