Drake and Kendrick Lamar are locked in a heated legal and musical battle that has captivated the industry. Both rappers are signed to Universal Music Group (UMG), under different divisions, and engaged in a prolific diss track war in 2024, with Lamar ultimately coming out on top in the charts.
Drake first sued UMG in January, alleging defamation over the promotion of Lamar’s diss track, Not Like Us. The lyrics describe Drake as a “certified pedophile” and a “predator” who needs to be “placed on neighborhood watch.”
He is now expanding that lawsuit. In an amended complaint filed Wednesday in a federal court in New York City, Drake’s legal team argued that Lamar’s Grammy wins and Super Bowl performance further damaged his reputation. Lamar won five Grammys in February and headlined the Super Bowl halftime show just a week later.
According to Drake, these “prestigious and high-exposure events” introduced new listeners to the allegedly defamatory track. He noted that although Lamar omitted the word “pedophile” during his Super Bowl performance—watched by 133.5 million viewers, according to the Associated Press—the damage had already been done.
The complaint also stated that “not only did streams of the Recording increase significantly following these two mega-cultural events, but threats against Drake and his family did as well.”
UMG, for its part, filed a motion last month to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it “no more than Drake’s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle” with Lamar.