Drake sues UMG over alleged payola and bots boosting Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), alleging unethical practices helped propel Kendrick Lamar’s hit song Not Like Us to massive success. 

According to court documents obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Drake claims UMG engaged in payola and used bots to inflate streams and radio play for the track, which significantly damaged his own career.

Drake accuses UMG of making covert payments to platforms, including iHeartRadio, to secure heavy promotion of Not Like Us, a practice prohibited by the FCC. Additionally, he alleges that bots were used to generate 30 million Spotify streams in May 2024, while social media influencers were paid to promote the song using unrestricted copyright access. These accusations, Drake says, come from a whistleblower within UMG.

The lawsuit aims to uncover details about UMG’s payment funneling methods, with Drake planning to file a civil fraud and racketeering case against the label and its collaborators. Drake also cites potential grounds for defamation, referring to a lyric in Not Like Us where Lamar labels him a "certified pedophile." Despite UMG also being Drake’s distributor, the legal battle signals heightened tensions between the artist and the label.