Drake is refusing to back down against Universal Music Group, sending the companies a defiant message amid their legal battle.
During his Christmas giveaway stream with Adin Ross on Thursday (Decembver 26), the 6 God appeared to address both UMG and Spotify who he has accused of giving Kendrick Lamar an unfair (and illegal) advantage in their beef.
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After a brief appearance from his mom Sandra Graham, Drake said: “That’s my mother, by the way. Any of you guys think you can finish me, from one man to the biggest corporation, you guys will never done me. Are you crazy?
“The most powerful force you ever seen in your life, me and her together. We can finish anything, done any of you guys off. Trust me.”
DrakeUMGLawsuit: @Drake acknowledged upcoming petition hearings including coporations @UMG/@iHeartMedia/@Spotify in his #DRIZZMAS livestream with @adinross on Thursday night (Dec. 26).
Mentioning corporations, he said:
"That's my mother btw, any of you guys think you can… pic.twitter.com/gzN67tRKWs
— Bryson “Boom” Paul (@brysonboompaul) December 27, 2024
Drake filed two pre-action petitions against UMG last month, claiming they used streaming bots and payola to artificially boost the popularity of Kendrick’s hit diss song “Not Like Us.”
He also accused the music giant — the parent company of his label Republic Records and Kendrick’s longtime home of Interscope — of defamation for releasing a track that labels him a pedophile.
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A court hearing to determine whether Drizzy is allowed to depose people from UMG and iHeartMedia regarding his claims of illegal radio payments was recently delayed until next year following a miscommunication.
Initially set for December 20, it will now go ahead on January 13 in Bexar County, Texas.
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A second hearing relating to Drake’s other legal filing against UMG and Spotify is set to take place just days later on January 16 in New York.
Spotify recently hit back at the allegations contained in the filing that they conspired with UMG to promote Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
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The streaming platform’s laywers claimed that there is zero evidence to support Drake’s allegations of streaming bots or an illicit deal being struck between the two companies.
“The predicate of Petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” the filing reads. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.”
It adds: “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 filing also criticized Drake for filing a pre-action petition instead of an actual lawsuit, claiming his allegations are too flimsy and would have been quickly dismissed in a lawsuit.
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“This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected,” the streaming giant argues.
The rapper’s attorneys subsequently hit back at Spotify’s statement, saying: “It is not surprising that Spotify is trying to distance themselves from UMG’s allegedly manipulative practices to artificially inflate streaming numbers on behalf of one of its other artists.
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“If Spotify and UMG have nothing to hide then they should be perfectly fine complying with this basic discovery request.”
