Drake Accuses UMG and Spotify of Inflating Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake, through his company Frozen Moments LLC, has accused Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify of trying to inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, Not Like Us. This information was first reported by the Independent on November 25. Drake’s lawyers filed a petition in New York claiming that “bots” and other tactics were used to increase streaming numbers for Lamar’s song.

The petition says that UMG “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services” to make the song go viral. A UMG spokesperson rejected these claims, stating, “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.”

Both Drake and Lamar release music through UMG and its record labels, Republic Records and Interscope. Not Like Us was released on May 4 as part of a rap feud between the two artists and reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, marking Lamar’s fourth US No. 1 and first for producer Mustard. The track has been streamed over 914 million times on Spotify and has received five Grammy nominations.

Drake’s filing alleges that UMG and Spotify failed to disclose that Spotify received compensation for promoting Not Like Us. It further claims UMG took steps to conceal its actions, including terminating employees loyal to Drake.

Drake’s petition accuses UMG and Spotify of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and New York’s Deceptive Business Act and False Advertising Act. This filing is not a lawsuit but a “pre-action petition” to gather information before possibly filing a lawsuit. Spotify has not commented on the matter.