Drake's Legal Team Requests Unredacted Kendrick Lamar Record Deal In Latest Defamation Lawsuit Update

Yahoo

4 days ago

Drake and Universal Music Group have reached the discovery stage in the defamation lawsuit regarding Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us.' The 6 God's legal team requested to see K. Dot's record deal with the label, as well as copies of Lucian Grainge's emails having to do with the smash hit diss song.
UMG initially obliged to his attorneys' request to see the Compton rapper's contract; however, upon receiving the 22-page document, they realized that it was severely redacted and unable to be read. Their purpose for seeing the contract was to confirm that UMG has a contractual commitment to block any defamatory content in their artists' music from coming out. If and when they receive the unredacted contract, it will be filed under seal.
As for Grainge's emails, UMG claims that their CEO had 'no meaningful involvement' in the release and promotion of the May 2024 diss record. The Toronto rapper's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, countered and said the company's refusal to turn over his communications 'is unsupported by law and would prejudice plaintiff's ability to test and prove his claims.' He added, 'UMG's insistence on shielding Grainge from document discovery is unfair, unwarranted and inconsistent with fundamental principles of discovery.'
An additional noteworthy aspect of the 'Nokia' rapper's legal team's requests has to do with UMG employees and Spotify. They cited an 'all-hands meeting' for UMG's marketing team where they were allegedly instructed to use their personal Spotify accounts to stream 'Not Like Us' on repeat and would be reimbursed for any fees associated with that act.
Pusha T, during his press run for the Clipse's latest album Let God Sort Em Out, revealed that his 2018 Drake-targeted diss track 'Story Of Adidon' was interfered with by UMG. As both he and the For All The Dogs rapper were under their umbrella, the label did not want one of their acts defaming a fellow signee. In their amended complaint, Drizzy's legal team is using this claim to pursue further details about their authority to stop songs from coming out and whether they have used that power before.
If true, it would mean that they did not exercise this ability when it came to 'Not Like Us.' Over the last several months, both sides have exchanged statements and accusations. UMG has called Drake out for actively participating in this particular rap beef and using his previous recordings to diss other rappers.
They also called him out for making accusations against Lamar related to domestic violence and paternity, but only taking issue with the Pulitzer Prize winner's claim that he was a pedophile. This has prompted Drake's legal team to request that UMG produce all documents related to Lamar's children and any domestic violence allegations against him, which could open up an entirely new can of worms.
Needless to say, this entire experience has evolved from just a damaging diss track to a multitude of layers that many likely would have never predicted. The conversation surrounding the lawsuit has been heavily focused on the constructs of Hip-Hop and Drake's perception in the court of public opinion; however, judges and lawyers do not abide by those same arbitrary rules. In the end, all of this contributes to potentially one of the most significant and unique lawsuits in Hip-Hop history.
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