Drake Admits He Suffered “Economic Harm” From Kendrick Lamar Feud

Drake decided to take legal action on Monday. The superstar rapper filed a petition against his own label, Universal Music Group. He felt the label practiced deceitful promotion with the Kendrick Lamar smash single “Not Like Us.” Drake is accusing UMG and Spotify of launching a “campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves” with Lamar’s diss song. A diss song which topped charts around the world and is considered to be a modern classic.

Drake went as far as to say that the success of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” caused him “economic harm.” Which is not the kind of phrasing used by someone who is unbothered by a battle. “UMG’s choice to saturate the music market with ‘Not Like Us’ comes at the expense of its other artists.” Artists like Drake the petition went out of its way to note. “As Drake is Petitioner’s sole owner, and Petitioner owns the copyright to Drake’s entire catalogue, Petitioner suffered economic harm as a result of UMG’s scheme.” The petition also tried to rationalize that the promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s song came at the expense of Drizzy’s own success.

“Streaming and licensing is a zero-sum game,” Every time a song ‘breaks through,’ it means another artist does not,” the petition states. Drake’s legal representatives also claimed that associates who were allegedly tied to the rapper were fired by UMG. “[The company] terminating employees associated with or perceived as having loyalty to Drake,” the petition read. The 6 God’s reps also referred to the tactics of both UMG and Spotify as “schemes.”

The decision to “lawyer up” instead of “squabble up,” as Charlamagne tha God put it, has not been met with much praise. Several industry insiders have mocked Drake for his decision and decreed that he has proven Kendrick Lamar’s critiques to be true. “Come on man,” Charlamagne explained on social media. “Because you lost a rap battle? I’m just here for the chaos. Let’s Discuss….. Kendrick Lamar affiliates like Rapsody, Mustard, and TDE Punch also got in on the fun. They bashed Drake for exemplifying “Not Like Us” behavior.