Drake secured Kendrick Lamar’s sealed UMG contract as part of his lawsuit against “Don’t Like Us”, but the public won’t read it.
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Drake won a legal victory in an ongoing lawsuit against Universal Music Group, ensuring the right to review Kendrick Lamar’s confidential contract with the record label, although the public won’t peek.
A federal judge ruled that while Lamar’s agreement with UMG contains “sensitive business information”, Drake and his legal team could check all unedited documents as part of the discovery.
The court agreed with UMG’s argument that public disclosure of contracts could damage business relationships and reveal private financial terms.
The ruling comes in Drake’s lawsuit alleging UMG promotes Kendrick’s top diss track “Don’t Like Us.” Drake claims the tag offers Lamar preferential treatment while using songs to damage its reputation and negotiating power.
UMG, led by CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, denied any misconduct. In court documents, Grainge called the allegations part of “unfounded”, “absurd” and “conspiracy theory.”
Drake’s lawyers believe that Lamar’s contract could reveal royalties, ownership terms or creative control terms that support his claims.
They also want internal communications about the artist contract and the release strategy behind “Don’t Like Us.”
The lawsuit intensified after Kendrick played the track in the Super Bowl midfielder, which aired over 133 million viewers. Drake accused the performance of reigniting online threats and harassment against him and his family.
UMG strongly resisted, accusing Drake’s legal team of using the discovery process to investigate private execution of emails and interruptions.
