By Stacy M. Brown
Drake took Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us—so personally that he took it to court. Now, he’s settled his dispute with iHeartMedia, but his fight with Universal Music Group (UMG) is just heating up. In November, Drake filed a legal petition in Texas, accusing iHeartMedia of accepting illegal payments from UMG to flood the airwaves with Not Like Us. Both Drake and Lamar are signed to UMG, making the allegations even messier. While the rapper and iHeartMedia have now “amicably resolved” their dispute, the details of their agreement remain sealed.
But UMG isn’t off the hook. The company is still facing Drake’s claims of “irregular and inappropriate business practices” to boost Lamar’s hit at his expense. Drake argues Not Like Us falsely accuses him of pedophilia and other crimes—and that UMG knowingly pushed the narrative. He’s already escalated his attack, filing a defamation lawsuit in federal court in New York. The feud between Drake, 38, and Lamar, 37, has been one of hip-hop’s most explosive in years. Drake, a five-time Grammy winner, and Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize recipient fresh off his Super Bowl halftime show, have turned their lyrical war into a legal one.
Meanwhile, iHeartMedia faces another challenge—the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is investigating whether the company pressures artists into performing at its iHeartCountry Festival in Austin for lower pay in exchange for airplay. iHeart denies any wrongdoing, insisting, “We do not make any overt or covert agreements about airplay with artists performing at our events.”
For Drake, one battle is over, but the war isn’t. His case against UMG is still in play, and the fallout from Not Like Us is far from finished.
