After Drake withdrew his initial pre-action petition against the music conglomerate, he is now officially suing Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss song “Not Like Us.” In the lawsuit, the Toronto rap star condemns UMG for having “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.” He also repeats his previous claims that UMG used unlawful tactics to turn “Not Like Us” into a hit, including secretly paying for fake streams and radio play.

The lawsuit alleges the company knew the song would generate massive amounts of money through streams and sales. UMG also knew its “dangerous” content would “devalue Drake’s music and brand”, which would give them an advantage when it came time to renegotiate his contract. Drake also claims that he confronted UMG about the release and promotion of “Not Like Us,” as well as the “tangible harm” that he has faced as a result of the song, but the company did nothing.

The lawsuit makes clear that this dispute is solely with UMG and not Kendrick Lamar. “This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us.’ 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,” it says.

What do you think about Drake suing the record label?