Common Track Slams Drake’s ‘Illogical’ Lawsuit Over ‘Now not Like Us’

Common Track Staff has posted a fiery reaction to Drake’s lawsuit round Kendrick Lamar’s brutal diss monitor, “Now not Like Us,” wherein he accuses the corporate — his label for greater than a decade — of defamation. Early Wednesday, Drake sued the corporate for defamation and harassment, claiming it spreading the “false and malicious narrative” that he’s a pedophile by the use of Kendrick Lamar’s monitor, “Now not Like Us.”

In reaction, a UMG spokesperson stated: “Now not simplest are those claims unfaithful, however the perception that we’d search to hurt the recognition of any artist — let on my own Drake — is illogical. We’ve invested vastly in his song and our staff all over the world have labored tirelessly for a few years to assist him reach ancient business and private monetary good fortune.

“During his occupation, Drake has deliberately and effectively used UMG to distribute his song and poetry to interact in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to precise his emotions about different artists. He now seeks to weaponize the criminal procedure to silence an artist’s inventive expression and to hunt damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s song.  

“We’ve no longer and don’t have interaction in defamation — in opposition to any person,” the observation concludes. “On the identical time, we can vigorously shield this litigation to offer protection to our other folks and our recognition, in addition to any artist who may without delay or not directly grow to be a frivolous litigation goal for having executed not anything extra that write a track.”

Within the paperwork, Drake claims that UMG knew that Lamar’s lyrics and photographs within the track’s song video, have been false and perilous, and that it “selected company greed over the security and well-being of its artists. In controversy,” it continues, “UMG noticed a chance, seized it, and persisted to fan the flames.”

Even though Lamar’s lyrics are on the center of the lawsuit, it obviously puts the blame on Common for liberating, distributing and selling the track: “This lawsuit is no longer in regards to the artist who created ‘Now not Like Us,’” it swimsuit reads. “It’s, as an alternative, completely about UMG, the song corporate that determined to post, advertise, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood weren’t simplest false, however bad.”

Paradoxically, Common distributes each Lamar’s and Drake’s song — each artists personal their fresh grasp recordings by the use of their firms — and has for almost all of each artists’ careers. The swimsuit claims that as a result of Drake’s present handle UMG is nearing the top of its time period, the corporate is making an attempt to devalue his song and profile so as to acquire more-favorable phrases in a renegotiation.

Drake initially filed a criminal petition in opposition to Common and Spotify — and any other naming iHeartMedia — in November, however withdrew the primary petition on Tuesday, clearing the way in which for the lawsuit. Then again, Drake turns out to have subsidized down on claims that UMG and Spotify conspired to falsely spice up the track’s streaming numbers; the ones allegations have been strenuously denied through each firms.

Selection can have extra at the state of affairs because it develops.