Photo of rapper Drake sourced from Black Enterprise on X.
Drake is allegedly taking the first steps to suing Kendrick Lamar, Spotify and UMG, a distributor shared by Drake and Kendrick. Drake is accusing UMG and Spotify of using tech to popularize the song “Not Like Us”, Kendrick’s diss track aimed at Drake. The hip-hop community is saying Drake’s very threat of suing over a song proves he’s “not like us.”
The Background
Not very long ago, Kendrick Lamar and Drake got into a rap beef that infected every radio station, podcast and YouTube channel. Rapper J. Cole had been a part of the beef before apologizing after dropping an initial diss aimed at the other two. Drake started off strong, and Kendrick was right there with him.
… Kendrick accuses Drake of being a sexual predator…
The tables seemingly turned when Kendrick dropped the song “Meet the Grahams”. On this track, Kendrick accuses Drake of being a sexual predator prone to making secret love babies and hiding them away. In response, Drake dropped a record in which he denied the allegations and claimed to have had Kendrick fed fake information about Drake. In this same song, Drake seemingly throws in the white towel. Amid this, Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” was born.
The Controversy
Drake, who’s well-known to use the finest ghostwriters to pen the illest lines, is now allegedly threatening to sue Kendrick Lamar, Spotify and UMG. Unlike the other diss records aimed at Drake, “They Not Like Us” has become part of popular culture. The phrase has taken on a life of its own, being used by people to identify chameleons within the community. Drake’s threatening to sue Kendrick Lamar over the song has some saying this confirms Drake is not like us.
According to MSNBC, Drake has actually filed a petition as of Monday. Drake blames big tech companies for the brutal loss he took, and he wants to use this petition to gather information to support his claim. He’s alleging Spotify and UMG (a distributor Drake shares with Kendrick) conspired to make “They Not Like Us” more popular than it would have been organically.
To defend itself, UMG issued the following response to NBC. “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.” At any rate, this lawsuit threat screams, “Drake is not like us.”
Black people have long been targets of unjust police surveillance, as evidenced by the actions of the hip-hop police. Within communities of color, it is not unusual for the FBI to plant informants. Because of this, authenticity is valued in the Black community.
Long before the lawsuit, Drake lost the battle…
Drake has worn blackface and doubled down on his use of the N-Word in questionable fashion. When Kendrick called Drake out on this, Drake responded by emphasizing the word toward the beginning of a song. You would have to be African American to feel the cringe these bars that Drake insists on spitting cause.
I don’t know if UMG conspired with Spotify to popularize “They Not Like Us” , but everybody except Drake Stans agree that Drake lost the beef with Kendrick. Unfortunately for Drake, he lost way before the lawsuit or even the beef started. He lost the day he even thought of coming at Kendrick. Drake wasn’t prepared. So, he threw in the towel but doubled back with the threat of a lawsuit he’s using to fish for information. At this point, Drake needs to give it up.
The Takeaway
Drake is threatening to sue Spotify and UMG because he claims the two companies conspired to popularize “They Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar. Long before the lawsuit, Drake lost the battle, and that song wasn’t even the nail in the coffin. It was the overkill. Spotify and UMG deny the allegations which seem baseless at best. Everyone knows Drake uses ghostwriters, so maybe the guilt of that is making Drake paranoid that somebody is cheating better than he does.
This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human. Subscribe and share.
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I do not understand him. How do you start something then act like a coward? I guess does not like it when it was done to him. It is funny that is he claiming that they are using payola ,but it no problem when they using it for him especially when scorpion came out and everybody was getting spam with his album on Spotify.
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