Drake is pushing a federal courtroom to compel Common Music Group handy over inside recordsdata from its CEO/chairman, Sir Lucian Grainge, accusing the chief of personally approving and selling false claims in Kendrick Lamar’s monster diss monitor “Not Like Us.”
In a authorized submitting submitted Tuesday (August 12), attorneys for the Canadian rapper argued that Grainge performed a direct half in circulating materials that portrayed Drake as a sexual predator and uncovered his house deal with.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this yr, claims UMG’s actions not solely broken Drake’s fame but in addition endangered his security.
Grainge’s involvement, in accordance with the submitting, might reveal “precise malice”—a authorized threshold Drake should meet to show defamation. His attorneys say Grainge’s communications might present he knew the claims had been false and pushed them anyway.
UMG initially tried to defend Grainge from discovery by labeling him an “apex” government, a time period used to argue that high-ranking officers shouldn’t be topic to routine doc manufacturing.
That argument has since been dropped, however the label now insists Grainge had “no significant involvement” and that any related materials would merely duplicate what’s already been collected from different executives.
Drake’s authorized staff isn’t shopping for it. They argue that even overlapping paperwork are important to point out what Grainge knew and when. “Plaintiff by no means agreed to delay requesting Grainge’s recordsdata,” the submitting states.
To attenuate the burden, Drake’s attorneys proposed utilizing agreed-upon search phrases to comb by means of Grainge’s data.
The dispute stems from Drake’s January 2025 lawsuit towards UMG, which alleges the label intentionally promoted “Not Like Us” to wreck his picture and apply strain throughout contract negotiations.
The monitor, carried out by Kendrick Lamar, included lyrics calling Drake a “pedophile” and featured cowl artwork exhibiting his Toronto deal with.
Drake says the fallout included a number of break-ins at his house and the taking pictures of his safety guard. He additionally accuses UMG of launching a viral marketing campaign utilizing influencers and bots to amplify the music’s attain.
UMG has denied the claims, calling the lawsuit “misguided” and “baseless.”
The corporate argues it will be “illogical” to hurt one in all its most worthwhile artists. The courtroom has not but dominated on whether or not UMG should produce Grainge’s paperwork.
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