The claims regarding “Not Like Us,” one of the year’s biggest singles, are “offensive and untrue,” according to UMG.
Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s dispute has escalated to a new level. According to the Canadian rapper, Spotify and Universal Music Group have boosted the number of plays of Lamar’s anti-Drake song.
The parent label to which both rappers are signed, UMG, “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us,’ in order to make that song go viral, including by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements,” according to a petition filed in a New York court on Monday by Drake’s Frozen Moments company.
The accusations are “offensive and untrue,” according to a statement from UMG. Lamar is signed to UMG’s Interscope Records, while Drake is tied to Republic Records, a UMG subsidiary.
Days after Lamar’s unexpected album GNX was published, and months before he will be the star of the Super Bowl halftime show, the petition was submitted.
One of the biggest songs of the year is “Not Like Us.” It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks, and it topped the Hot Rap Songs chart for twenty weeks.
The song has five Grammy Award nominations, including one for song and record of the year. It has evolved from a trash track to a global cultural hymn.
Following the resurgence of the rappers’ dispute in March, Lamar released the West Coast hit song in May. Following a series of back-and-forth diss tracks, Lamar released “Not Like Us,” in which he accused Drake of stealing Black culture and called him a paedophile.
The lively song, which was created by DJ Mustard, broke streaming records, and as a result, fans declared Lamar the victor.
The feud started in 2013 when Lamar, who had previously worked with Drake and served as his tour opener, made disparaging remarks about 11 of his peers in his guest verse on Big Sean’s song “Control.”
