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Rb Hip Hop

Here’s How Fans Are Reacting to Drake’s Claims That UMG & Spotify Schemed to Inflate ‘Not Like Us’

He accused the parties of conspiring to "artificially inflate the popularity" of Kendrick Lamar's diss track.

Drake performs onstage during "Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration Concert" at State Farm Arena on Dec. 9, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Drake performs onstage during "Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration Concert" at State Farm Arena on Dec. 9, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Prince Williams/Wireimage

Drake shocked the music industryon Monday (Nov. 25) when he accused his label, Univeral Music Group, and Spotify in a court filing of artificially inflating the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”

Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC alleges in the filing that the two parties conducted an “illegal scheme” that involved paid bots and other methods to “pump up” Lamar’s track that viciously disses him and accuses him of pedophilia, among other claims. UMG has denied the allegations, calling them “offensive and untrue” in a statement to Billboard. (Spotify declined to comment.)


The legal procedure — and the second action against UMG that Drake filed Tuesday (Nov. 26) — essentially reignited the flame for the Kendrick and Drake beef, as fans continued to bicker back and forth on social media over his legal maneuvers. “Drake Stan’s acting like Drake suing in order to fight the good fight against capitalism is soooooo funny bro LMFAOOOOOOO,” one person tweeted.

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7PM in Brooklyn co-host Kazeem Famuyide took a different approach while examining the industry as a whole. “Kendrick: F the whole industry. Drake: F the whole industry. Cole: F the whole industry. Fans: actually, I’m on the industry’s side here,”he added.

No Jumper‘s Adam22 agreed this could have major implications on the music industry. “Anyone acting like Drake is just a bad loser hasn’t read this s–t yet,” he tweeted. “If half of this gets proven, Drake will look like a hero for exposing the corrupt music industry.”

Former NFL star Arian Foster took a different approach and jokingly compared Drake’s legal action to this being his version of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

“One thing that’s funny to me about Drake suing his label is I’ve never seen so many fans be on the label’s side before lmao,” another fan chimed in. “This the first time where the artist isn’t automatically right to the public.”

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In its statement to Billboard, UMG noted: “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.”

Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” proved to be the knockout blow in his feud with Drake, and has remained a cultural staple as one of the biggest songs of the year. The Mustard-produced diss track topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a pair of weeks and hasn’t departed from the top 20 since its arrival in May.

Find more fan reactions to Drake’s legal actions below.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.
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Oscar Voting, Nominations Announcement Delayed Again Due to L.A. Wildfires
Awards

Oscar Voting, Nominations Announcement Delayed Again Due to L.A. Wildfires

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced updates to its 2025 Oscars key dates and schedule of events due to the impact of the Los Angeles-area fires. The Oscar telecast is still set for March 2, but the nominations announcement is being delayed for the second time to Jan. 23 — and will now be held virtually. The Oscars nominees luncheon, always an A-list event, will not be held this year.

“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “The Academy has always been a unifying force within the film industry, and we are committed to standing together in the face of hardship.

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