Universal Music Group has requested a significant delay to address Drake and his defamation lawsuit against the company, claiming that the wildfires in Los Angeles have prevented their legal teams from being able to properly formulate a case. As caught by AllHipHop, one of the company's lawyers, Nicholas P. Crowell, wrote in the request: “We request this extension…because the wildfires in Los Angeles have greatly impacted Defendant’s executive and legal teams. An extension from the Court would enable sufficient time to respond."
Drake filed his lawsuit, earlier this month, after retracking another legal petition against the company. In the latest filing, the Toronto rapper alleges that UMG intentionally boosted the success of Kendrick Lamar's diss track, "Not Like Us," in an effort to devalue Drake's brand amid their contract negotiations.
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Revisit Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us"
“UMG intentionally sought to turn Drake into a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse,” the complaint reads. “UMG did so not because it believes any of these false claims to be true, but instead because it would profit from damaging Drake’s reputation.” Notably, Drake doesn't intend to take any legal action against Kendrick Lamar specifically. “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the new suit clarifies. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”
Shortly after Drake filed the lawsuit, UMG put out a statement denying the allegations. They wrote: “Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical. We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success." Kendrick Lamar is expected to perform "Not Like Us" at the Super Bowl, next month.
