Drake Wants to See Kendrick’s Record Deal & UMG CEO’s Emails in ‘Not Like Us’ Lawsuit
A series of new legal filings claim Universal Music Group has withheld key evidence from Drake's team.
Drake’s lawyers are trying to get their hands on a swath of potentially relevant evidence in their lawsuit over Universal Music Group’s promotion of the chart-topping Kendrick Lamar diss track “Not Like Us,” including Lamar’s record deal and CEO Lucian Grainge’s emails about the song.
Discovery is underway in Drake’s lawsuit accusing UMG of plotting to boost the popularity of “Not Like Us,” Lamar’s hit 2024 Interscope Records track that called the Canadian superstar (Aubrey Drake Graham) a “certified pedophile.” Interscope is a subsidiary of UMG, as is Drake’s label, Republic Records.
In the discovery phase of litigation, each side sifts through its documents and turns over relevant files to the other. But UMG has refused to produce much of what Drake’s team has requested.
Drake’s lawyers are now seeking court orders forcing UMG to turn over the evidence they want, including an unredacted version of Lamar’s contract with Interscope. In a series of motions filed Tuesday (Aug. 12), attorney Michael Gottlieb says the 22-page record deal produced by UMG is almost entirely redacted, “rendering it virtually unreadable and incomprehensible.”
UMG has also refused to turn over emails and text messages from Grainge, claiming the CEO had “no meaningful involvement” in the release or promotion of “Not Like Us.” Gottlieb said on Tuesday that the company’s refusal “is unsupported by law and would prejudice plaintiff’s ability to test and prove his claims.”
“Plaintiff’s amended complaint contains numerous allegations specific to Grainge, including his role in and knowledge of the scheme to defame and harass plaintiff, and UMG’s use of deceptive business practices regarding the same,” writes Gottlieb. “UMG’s insistence on shielding Grainge from document discovery is unfair, unwarranted and inconsistent with fundamental principles of discovery.”
Gottlieb says Grainge holds a “position of control” over artists like Lamar and that, as CEO, he approved the release and promotion of “Not Like Us.” As for Grainge’s supposed motivation for defaming Drake, Gottlieb says the executive is “well known for the encouragement of competition between the UMG record labels” and that the company had an incentive to devalue Drake’s brand in order to gain negotiating leverage ahead of upcoming contract extension talks.
“If, as UMG claims, Grainge had ‘no meaningful involvement in the matters and decisions at issue in this litigation,’ then UMG will have little, if anything, to produce to plaintiff from his files, and the review process would impose minimal burden on UMG,” adds Gottlieb.
Other evidence sought by Drake’s legal team on Tuesday includes documents about Interscope’s financial profits, the valuation of Lamar’s catalog and the compensation of label CEO John Janick.
Gottlieb also argues that UMG should produce information about whether it has ever censored or declined to promote content that it deemed defamatory. Specifically, the court filings suggest that UMG-owned label Def Jam may have cut some of the more offensive verses from Pusha T’s own 2018 Drake diss track, “The Story of Adidon.”
“Such documents would reveal why, and under what circumstances, UMG believes it is appropriate to censor its artists’ expression, which plaintiff could evaluate alongside UMG’s decisions regarding ‘Not Like Us,’” writes Gottlieb. “UMG’s past practice, and knowledge regarding prior defamatory material it has refused to publish, would be highly probative of UMG’s knowledge here.”
A rep for UMG did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
UMG has vehemently denied that it defamed Drake or did anything untoward in its promotion of “Not Like Us.” The company says Drake is just embarrassed after losing his very public rap battle with Lamar and is now trying to “save face” and “salve his wounds” with misguided litigation.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in New York federal court is currently weighing UMG’s motion to dismiss the case outright as legally invalid. The judge held a hearing earlier this summer, and her ruling could come any day now.
