Spotify is responding to Drake’s legal action, accusing the streaming giant and Universal Music Group of amplifying Kendrick Lamar’s streams for “Not Like Us.”
In a legal filing, Drake stated Spotify boosted the streams, to which they reply, calling the allegations “false” and calling the legal action a “subversion of the normal judicial process.”
Spotify says there is no evidence to support Drake’s allegations of using bots, and more, it denies that there is no deal to help the single. “The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” Spotify’s legal team wrote, according to Billboard. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”
Additionally, Spotify was critical of Drake’s legal action, including creating a “pre-action” because the accusations were believed to be baseless and would have been quickly dismissed.
“What petitioner is seeking to do here … is to bypass the normal pleading requirements … and obtain by way of pre-action discovery that which it would only be entitled to seek were it to survive a motion to dismiss,” Spotify’s lawyers added. “This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected.”
Drake’s team did not reply to a request for comment.
Drake‘s Texas hearing was rescheduled to January 13 after confusion occurred in court on Friday (Dec. 20). Outlets were informed the deposition would be held on Friday by Bexar County Clerks. Reporters were surprised by no announcement of the case number. Clerks revealed a mistake in scheduling announcements. Scheduled for December 18, it was rescheduled to December 20. The December 20 hearing was rescheduled again for December 19. Thursday’s hearing did not occur, with all parties agreeing on a motion to set the hearing delayed to January 13.
Drake’s attorney filed a letter to Judge Gloria Martinez and the District Clerk dropping Thursday’s hearing and requesting the reschedule. It reads: “Please allow this letter to confirm that Plaintiff will pass the hearings on his Rule 202 Petition that are currently docketed on Thursday, December 19, 2024 and Friday, December 20, 2024. Per the Third Amended Notice of Hearing, Plaintiffs Rule. The petition will be heard on January 13, 2025.”
News of the rescheduling follows Spotify’s response to Drake’s petition in federal court filed in November. The streaming giant denied all allegations, claiming they assisted in the possible artificial inflation of Kendrick Lamar’s massive hit, “Not Like Us.” In the response, Spotify told Billboard: “The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” the company’s lawyers write. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”
Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud appeared subliminal for years. In April, Lamar disssed Drake and J. Cole directly on Future/Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” The” “Big 3” insult resulted in diss tracks “Push Ups” and “Family Matters” by Drake and “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar. Additionally, “Not Like Us” is a huge success, breaking multiple records. Drake told xQc he is unfazed by the rap battle that peddled “fairytales” claims.
Now, the music titans are fighting back. Today (December 20), Spotify reportedly responded to Drake’s pre-petition with a motion of its own in Manhattan court. According to Billboard, it claimed to have “found zero evidence to support the claims of a bot attack” to increase the streams of “Not Like Us.” The company also denied entering a backdoor deal with UMG to aid Kendrick in his war of words with Drake.
“The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” read the motion. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”
Later in the document, Spotify slammed Drake for filing a pre-petition rather than a full-on case.
“What petitioner is seeking to do here is to bypass the normal pleading requirements,” the wrote. “And obtain by way of pre-action discovery that which it would only be entitled to seek were it to survive a motion to dismiss. This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected.”
It continued, “The petition asserts no specific facts of any kind in support of these alleged RICO and deceptive practices violations. Instead, it relies exclusively on speculation or the claims of anonymous individuals on the internet.”
The closed by rebutted the allegation of bot manipulation, writing, “When we identify attempted stream manipulation, we take action that may include removing streaming numbers, withholding royalties and charging penalty fees. Confirmed and suspected artificial streams are also removed from our chart calculations. This helps us to protect royalty payouts for honest, hardworking artists.”
UMG also addressed the matter in a statement of its own (viewable here).
It’s anybody’s guess what Drake is doing. The rapper has had an odd couple of months. He’s notched some impressive awards and statistics, despite taking what many consider to be a massive L during the Kendrick Lamar battle. He was the most streamed rapper on Spotify (again), and he won three statues at the Billboard Music Awards. Perhaps the recognition inspired him. Drake took to Instagram on Thursday, December 19 to confirm that he’s working on new music. He also confirmed producer Noah “40” Shebib is working alongside him.
Drake posted a photo of 40 working in front of a fireplace decorated for Christmas. The producer has a laptop open, and is very obviously working on a song. Drake doesn’t appear in the photo, but he included the caption: “strong winds from the north.” It’s unclear if the 6 God means the north of Toronto, or if he’s working from his new home in Texas. It’s the first time the rapper has confirmed that new music is in the works, either way. A relief, given that fans are still waiting on the collaborative album between him and his OVO brother, PARTYNEXTDOOR.
Drake announced that his collab with PND would be out before the end of 2024. We only have so many days left in the year, though. It looks likely that the joint album has been delayed. PND promised fans he would get down to business finishing it once he got off tour, but it’s unclear if the rapper has completed his contributions. It’s possible that the song 40 is mixing on IG is one that’ll end up on the collab album. It’s a wise move on Drake’s part to generate anticipation for new music, though, given that most of the press he’s gotten lately has been negative.
The rapper reportedly plans to sue Universal Music Group and Spotify for using shady tactics to boost the streams of Kendrick Lamar’s diss, “Not Like Us.” He has been criticized by peers, fans, and various members of the media for his decision. The most recent derision came from Snoop Dogg. The L.A. icon went on the Bootleg Kev Podcast and claimed Drake was not acting in a way becoming of a rapper. “On the West, we hold court in the streets,” Snoop asserted. “That’s just what we call it.”
At one point on “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar drops a bunch of Drake-related names, rapping, “You called Future when you didn’t see the club / Lil Baby helped you get your lingo up / 21 gave you false street cred / Thug made you feel like you a slime in your head / Quavo said you can be from Northside / 2 Chainz say you good, but he lied.”
It turns out Lil Baby didn’t love getting dragged into the beef.
“I ain’t really into, like, that side of hip-hop. So, I don’t really… you know. [Drake and I have a] great relationship. Great relationship. It’s just with any situation, like, if you and him was arguing, why the hell you gon’ say me, you know? I don’t be having nothing to do with it. […] I feel like, to me, like, rap and sh*t be my work. It’s, like, I don’t want that type of sh*t at work, know what I’m saying? Even with you saying, like, ‘What’s your relationship with Gunna?’ I ain’t in it for that type of sh*t, you know what I’m saying? I ain’t on that.”
Check out the clip from Baby’s interview with Charlamagne here.
Kendrick Lamar has respect for the legends, especially those from the West. On the opening track of his new album, GNX, “wacced out murals,” Lamar revealed his reaction to Snoop Dogg reposting Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle” diss toward him:
“Snoop posted ‘Taylor Made’, I prayed it was the edibles It was only right for me to let it go”
Snoop heard the bar and spoke about it with Bootleg Kev.
“That’s my nephew, he’s a rapper man he’s supposed to speak his mind and tell his truth,” said Snoop. “That’s the way he felt and he has the right to say that. I’m his big homeboy so I have to take what’s given to me from his perspective because he’s speaking truth. And the truth shouldn’t hurt you, it should make you better.”
You can hear the full explanation from Snoop Dogg below.
“I was fucked up, My Bad” – Snoop Dogg on Kendrick Lamar calling him out on ‘wacced out murals’ pic.twitter.com/L49xF1Eofj
Back in the beef days, Drake received a cease-and-desist and had to remove the “Taylor Made Freestyle” from online. Originally posted on Instagram, the single used an AI-generated Tupac voice to provoke Lamar.
According to Billboard, the estate threatened to sue and stated the voice was “a flagrant violation” and “blatant use” of Pac’s legacy.
The message was delivered via a cease-and-desist letter filed by Howard King, requesting Drake pull the song within 24 hours or face all of the estate’s “legal remedies.”
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” King wrote in the letter. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
Additionally, the letter reads, “The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult.”
Last Friday (April 19) on Instagram, Drake dropped off the “Taylor Made Freestyle.”
Upon pressing play, you will hear something you wouldn’t expect: Tupac’s voice. The single opens with an AI Tupac verse requesting KDot stand up for the West Coast. It is followed by an AI Snoop Dogg asking for the same.
AI Tupac raps: Fuck this Canadian lightskin, Dot We need an undebated West Coast victory, man Call him a bitch for me Talk about him liking young girls, that’s a gift from me Heard it on the Budden Podcast, it’s gotta be true They told me the spirit of Makaveli is alive In the nigga under five-foot five, so it’s gotta be you
AI Snoop added: ‘Cause right now it’s looking like you writing out the game plan on how to lose How to bark up the wrong tree and then get your head popped in a crowded room World is watching this chess game, but are you out of moves?
After that, Drake pops in for his own slick talk: The first one really only took me an hour or two The next one is really ’bout to bring out the coward in you But now we gotta wait a fucking week ’cause Taylor Swift is your new Top And if you ’bout to drop, she gotta approve
Since “Like That,” your tone changed a little, you not as enthused How are you not in the booth? It feel like you kinda removed You tryna let this shit die down, nah, nah, nah Not this time, nigga, you followin’ through
He ends the song with a message, “I know you’re in that NY apartment, you struggling right now I know it.”
Snoop Dogg dropped by The Bootleg Kev podcast to discuss is latest collaborative album, Missionary with Dr. Dre. However, another recording artist’s music sneakily became the topic of conversation.
Snoop Dogg confessed that he “called and apologized” to Kendrick Lamar for giving the diss track a co-sign without listening to the full song that featured an AI-generated verse of his likeness and the late Tupac. On “Wacced Out Murals,” Kendrick called Snoop out for going against the home team (California) and he’s ok with that.
“That’s my nephew, man,” Snoop Dogg said. “He’s a rapper, man. He’s supposed to speak his mind and tell his truth. That’s the way he felt. You know what I’m saying? He has the right to say that. I’m his big homeboy, so I have to take what’s given to me from his perspective because he’s speaking truth. And the truth shouldn’t hurt you. It should make you better.”
Snoop then went on to try and explain away the misstep claiming he only reposted that song because it referenced his song “Gin and Juice” and adult beverage company.
“What happened was, I did a collaborative post with someone [on Instagram]. So when I post it, I’m thinking I’m posting Gin and Juice,” he said. “I don’t know what song this is. I’m not hip to everybody’s music. Then I get the word, ‘Nephew didn’t like what you did.’‘What did I do?’‘You played some music’. ‘What music?’ Then I had to go look at it. I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s cuz… damn.’ So then I deleted it, called nephew, left him a message ’cause he ain’t pick up. He was working on his sh*t. I left him a message. ‘I apologize. I was f*cked up, my bad.’”
However, users online are not buying Snoop’s explanation. “Very mature of him. But he’s def lying about now knowing about the song lol,” wrote one user.
Well, if it was good enough for Kendrick that is all Snoop cares about.
Watch the full episode of Snoop Dogg on The Bootleg Kev podcast above. Missionary is out now via Death Row/Aftermath/Interscope Records. Find more information here.
Basketball players have been appearing in music videos for a pretty long time now. Earlier this year, we looked at some notable examples of this, which included some older examples (Shaq appearing in the video for “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!”) and some newer ones (DeMar DeRozan’s highly-publicized cameo in the video for “Not Like Us”).
Fortunately for us, that was only the tip of the iceberg, as there are plenty of other examples of times when musicians reached out to NBA players and asked them to pop up in the video for one of their songs. And today, we wanted to dive into a few more of these, starting with one of the more surprising cameos we can remember…
Kawhi Leonard: “Way 2 Sexy” by Drake featuring Future and Young Thug
Kawhi Leonard has managed to turn being a boring and laid-back guy into his brand. For how brilliant he is at his best on the basketball court, Leonard is known for being soft-spoken and keeping himself out of the spotlight. All of this is to say that when Kawhi showed up in “Way 2 Sexy” dressed in all white and joined Drake, Future, and Young Thug in essentially lampooning boy band music videos, well, I can safely say I did not see that coming.
Magic Johnson: “Remember The Time” by Michael Jackson
The legendary video for “Remember The Time” is all built around Jackson performing for Egyptian royalty, played in here by Eddie Murphy and Iman. But off to the side, Johnson is the herald who presents performers to Murphy and Iman. Shockingly, it seemed like Magic had a terrific time with the project, and earlier this year, he called getting to be in the video “one of the greatest thrills in my life.”
LeBron James: “Forever” by Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem
Of course LeBron was going to be in this video in some capacity, as it was made for the 2008 documentary More than a Game, which followed around his high school team at St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron. He hops onto PokerStars before the track starts, and while we don’t see him in the video again, we get plenty of clips and photos from before he made it to the NBA. However, a few months after the song came out, we did get a famous clip of LeBron rapping along to Eminem’s verse in the waning moments of a Cavs-Lakers game.
Stephen Curry: “Lil Fish, Big Pond” by Tobe Nwigwe
Curry joined Nwigwe in the video for his 2023 release, which was part of the soundtrack for the Apple TV+ release, Stephen Curry: Underrated. In the video, the pair are fishing on a boat, and Curry lip syncs along to the first verse before viewers see that Nwigwe is also on the boat. A little later, the pair sit alongside one another in a stadium.
Metta Sandiford-Artest: “Nas Is Like” by Nas
If you blink, you’ll miss when the two Queens legends link up in the music video for the first track off of “I Am…” It shows Nas throughout Queensbridge, which both he and the former Ron Artest called home as they were growing up. While this is an extremely short cameo, Sandiford-Artest arrives, shows Nas some love, and then looks into the camera at the 1:24 mark.
Grant Hill: “Rockstar” by Nickelback
I’ll be honest with you: I am unsure why Grant Hill appeared in the music video for “Rockstar,” and funny enough, if you take his word for it, Grant Hill wasn’t 100 percent sure why, either. Anyway, the video famously has a ton of celebrities in it, and at one point, Hill shows up and is in the middle of signing a basketball in a gym while he lip syncs the line “sign a couple autographs so I can eat…” before the camera cuts to someone else. He then shows up later and lip syncs “with the movie stars.”
You’re not truly famous until a look-alike contest is thrown in your honor. It happened to Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Glen Powell, and over the weekend, it was Drake‘s turn.
A doppelgänger competition for the “Family Matters” rapper took place in the rapper’s hometown of Toronto, Canada on Saturday, with the winner being given $10,000 from Drake himself.
“I can barely type and a whole shock went through my body. But yes this is true and real & I hope the Drake doppelgängers ready LETSSSSSSSS GOOOOOOO,” event organizer Casuals Cakery wrote on Instagram, along with proof of a DM from Drake offering to add “10 bands to the look alike contest. As the main prize.” The bakery replied, “Just give me a min to stop hyperventilating this moment. I can’t believe this is ur account and u know about this. Omg I love you.”
According to Page Six, “Makayla Chambers ultimately took home the grand prize after she showed up to the event with her hair in two pigtails — similar to Drake’s look from earlier this year — along with a fake goatee, an oversized beige sweater and black pants. ‘Girl Drake’ beat out several other participants who dressed up as various versions of the five-time Grammy winner.”
You can see “Girl Drake’s” contest-winning look here.
Steve-O believes Kendrick Lamar embodies a level of cool that Drake simply doesn’t possess. During a conversation with country artist Hardy on his Wild Ride podcast, the Jackass star delved into his favorite rappers, including André 3000 and Lamar. Around the 45-minute mark of the episode, Steve-O shared his admiration for the Outkast legend. “André 3000 just exudes cool,” he remarked. “Kendrick has that same essence. It’s a kind of coolness you can’t define.” Unprompted, he contrasted their presence with Drake’s. “Drake doesn’t have it,” Steve-O declared.
Elsewhere in the discussion, Steve-O praised Lamar’s latest album, GNX. “It’s incredible,” he said, admitting he isn’t a hip-hop aficionado. “I was into 50 Cent and G-Unit back in the day, but I haven’t kept up. Then I played Kendrick’s new album and thought, ‘Wow, even my 81-year-old dad would find this amazing.’” Steve-O’s comments about Drake may stem from the widely perceived loss Drake took to Lamar in their lyrical feud earlier this year. Public opinion leaned heavily in Lamar’s favor, leaving some to question Drake’s standing.
Steve-O Picks Kendrick Lamar Over Drake In The Beef Based On “Coolness”
However, comedian Marlon Wayans offered a different perspective during his appearance on Big Boy’s Neighborhood. Wayans emphasized that the rivalry elevated both artists. “It was a phenomenal battle. Neither should feel bad,” he said. “What they gave us was unforgettable—like a Super Bowl Halftime show for hip-hop fans.” Wayans went on to compare the clash to an epic movie scene. “It was like Drake was Thanos, and all the Avengers came after him,” he quipped, referencing Kendrick, Future, and Metro Boomin.
Despite Drake holding his own, Wayans admitted Lamar’s approach was devastatingly unique. “Kendrick hit him from a soul level. It was like therapy. You can’t fight that. Kendrick is different—special.” While debates over their “cool factor” may persist, both artists have undeniably left a mark on the culture, shaping hip-hop’s evolving narrative. Drake and Kendrick Lamar have not shared Steve-O’s commentary at this time.
