Drake‘s attorneys have claimed that “thousands and thousands of individuals” imagine Kendrick Lamar was actually calling him a pedophile.
Final November, the ‘Hotline Bling’ hitmaker filed a dispute towards Common Music Group in New York, alleging that the writer and label had “artificially inflated” streams for ‘Not Like Us’, amongst different allegations.
Within the submitting – which could be seen right here – Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG and Spotify of “illegally” aiding and boosting ‘Not Like Us’ streams in favour of Lamar – who entered a viral rap feud with Drake final 12 months.
Extra lately, UMG filed a movement to dismiss the Canadian rapper’s go well with, stating that he had sued the company as a result of he “misplaced a rap battle”. They went on to say that “as a substitute of accepting the loss just like the unbothered rap artist he usually claims to be”, Drake had “sued his personal document label in a misguided try to salve his wounds”.
UMG additionally cited a 2022 petition of their submitting which famous that Drake, together with numerous different musicians, had urged prosecutors to cease citing rap lyrics as proof in felony trials. “Drake was proper then and is improper now,” learn the submitting. “The grievance’s unjustified claims towards UMG are not more than Drake’s try to avoid wasting face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar.”
Yesterday (March 20), Drake’s staff hit again at UMG’s central argument: that almost all listeners wouldn’t take “outrageous insults”, that are naturally par for the course in diss tracks, as reality.
Per Billboard, the ‘Legend’ rapper’s attorneys say that line of argument is “doomed to fail” as a result of folks had taken Lamar’s phrases critically.
“UMG utterly ignores the grievance’s allegations that thousands and thousands of individuals, everywhere in the world, did perceive the defamatory materials as a factual assertion that plaintiff is a pedophile,” his attorneys wrote.
Certainly, Lamar performed the largest 13-minute gig in music when he headlined the Tremendous Bowl LIX Halftime Present in February. Boasting visitor appearances from SZA, Serena Williams and Samuel L. Jackson, it was later named the most-watched Tremendous Bowl efficiency in historical past, and noticed a efficiency of the contentious observe.
It additionally spawned a brand new meme throughout social media, with many noticing Kendrick Lamar taking a second to smirk on the digicam as he dropped the ‘Not Like Us’ line: “Say Drake, I hear you want ’em younger”.
Drake’s lawyer’s continued: “UMG additionally ignores [the lawsuit’s claim] that the statements in query (and surrounding context) implied that the allegations have been primarily based on undisclosed proof and the viewers understood as a lot.”
