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Drake’s remarkably one-sided spat with Kendrick Lamar has made 2024 a bad year for the rapper, and he made yet another unforced mistake on Monday when he filed a lawsuit over “Not Like Us.”
He isn’t stopping there, either, as he launched another lawsuit in which he accused his opponent of defamation due to the lyrics of the immediately recognizable diss tune.
Drake has always been a rather controversial figure in the hip-hop industry. Although even his harshest critics acknowledge.
That he can produce hits, his tendency to take himself far too seriously and frequently stray from his lane while posing as someone he is not makes him an easy target for jokes.
He has had a number of well-publicized feuds with other rappers over the years, and you have to wonder.
Whether his victory against Meek Mill in 2015 gave him the confidence he needed to participate in a few more feuds in which he lost in a very polarizing manner.
Pusha T responded to Drake’s 2018 diss track attacking Kanye West and Pusha T with one of his own.
“The Story of Adidion,” in which he disclosed that the Toronto native had been “hiding a child” he fathered with an, hmm, adult performer.
Although I would argue that’s still the case, it didn’t seem unreasonable to assume that would be the most vicious lyrical attack Drake would ever receive.
Earlier this year, Kendrick Lamar gave Pusha a serious run for his money when he put an end to his own feud with Drake with the release of “Not Like Us.”
The catchy song was full of references to unproven rumors about Drake’s fondness for women who aren’t of legal consenting age.
Lamar referred to Drake as a “certified pedophile,” said, “I heard you like ’em young,” and ended a verse with the line “A MINOOOOOOOOR,” which was the final nail in the coffin.
The harm was done for a guy who did too little, too late, even if Drake refuted the accusations in his now forgotten answer.
Kendrick took a victory lap when he played “Not Like Us” five times in a row at his concert in Inglewood a few months prior to announcing that he had been selected as the Super Bowl halftime performer.
“Not Like Us” broke several streaming records Drake had previously set on his way to debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Drake has handled the entire situation in an unsatisfactory manner, and on Monday he made yet another dubious choice by accusing Lamar’s label.
Universal Music Group, of using bots and illegal payola to increase the popularity of “Not Like Us.” This pre-action filing is the first step towards an official lawsuit.
But he didn’t stop there. According to Billboard, Drake is suing the label in a second filing for allegedly ignoring the defamatory lyrics and “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.”
He claims the label should have stopped the song’s release or made Kendrick edit those lines before it was released.
Drake and his legal team seem to be preparing for what could be a protracted (and likely costly) legal struggle.
Although there is a potential that he may win in that specific court, he has clearly lost the trial in the public opinion trial.