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Drake performing at Wireless Festival
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Key Takeaways:
- Drake’s legal team is requesting unredacted documents, including Kendrick Lamar’s Interscope Records contract and Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge’s emails.
- The case alleges UMG supported “Not Like Us” to harm Drake’s image during contract negotiations.
- UMG is seeking dismissal, arguing the claims are baseless and legally unsupported.
Drake’s legal team is intensifying its discovery demands in the ongoing lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss track “Not Like Us.” As reported by Billboard, his attorneys are now seeking unredacted contractual details and direct communications from the company’s top executive.
Drake alleges UMG played a central role in boosting the chart-topping Interscope Records single, which labeled him a “certified pedophile” during his public feud with Lamar. Interscope, Lamar’s label, operates under UMG, as does Drake’s own label, Republic Records.
According to court filings submitted on Tuesday (Aug. 12) by attorney Michael Gottlieb, UMG has refused to provide significant portions of the requested evidence so far. Chief among the disputed items is Lamar’s 22-page Interscope contract, which Drake’s lawyers say was produced with heavy redactions that make it “virtually unreadable and incomprehensible.”
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Lucian Grange and Mustard, who produced Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” at the Grammy Awards
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Drake’s legal team is also demanding emails and text messages from UMG CEO Lucian Grainge related to “Not Like Us.” The company argued Grainge had “no meaningful involvement” in the song’s release or promotion. Gottlieb contended that shielding the CEO from document discovery is “unfair, unwarranted and inconsistent with fundamental principles of discovery,” citing Grainge’s alleged oversight of label competition and his potential influence over the track’s rollout.
The filings also suggest UMG had strategic motives, alleging the company sought to devalue Drake’s brand to gain leverage ahead of potential contract extension negotiations. Gottlieb asserted that reviewing Grainge’s communications would impose “minimal burden” on the company if its claims of his noninvolvement are accurate.
Other evidence sought includes Interscope’s financial gains from “Not Like Us,” the valuation of Lamar’s catalog and compensation records for Interscope CEO John Janick. Drake’s team is additionally requesting examples of UMG censoring potentially defamatory content, pointing to reports that Def Jam Recordings, another UMG label, may have edited verses from Pusha T’s 2018 Drake diss, “The Story of Adidon.”
UMG has denied any wrongdoing and framed Drake’s lawsuit as an attempt to “save face” after losing his lyrical battle with Lamar. The company is seeking to have the case dismissed entirely, a motion currently under consideration by Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in New York federal court. A ruling could be issued in the coming days.
