This week, Drake took legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the label and Spotify of artificially promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” In a second pre-suit filing in a Texas court, he also accused Universal Music Group of defamation. According to him, the label allegedly could have blocked the release of the song, in which Kendrick “wrongly [accuses] He is a sex offender.
“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song, or have requested that the offending material be edited and/or removed,” the lawsuit said, according to Billboard. “But UMG chose to do the opposite. Universal Music Group designed, financed and A plan was executed to turn “Not Like Us” into a viral hit, aiming to use the spectacle of Drake and his business being harmed to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, huge revenue. The plan worked, probably. Exceeding Universal Music Group’s wildest expectations. Unsurprisingly, this latest move has drawn mixed reactions, while some are on Drake’s side, others like Stephen A. Smith disagree.
Stephen A. Smith Thinks Drake Looks “Weak and Sensitive”
“Let’s get this out of the way right now, it looks bad and it’s all over Drake. All of that. This is hip-hop, man, this is hip-hop. Someone comes to you with lyrics, with a song , you should go right back to them with the song and the lyrics,” he said on a recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.” “I don’t care who gave what the push. If the song wasn’t an immediate hit, it wouldn’t have had as many hits,” he continued, making Drake look “weak and sensitive.”
However, Smith isn’t the only one to criticize Drake recently. Joe Budden also recently slammed the Toronto rapper on his podcast. “It was a bag of shit behind the scenes because he had fans and he had Lucian, so everyone just turned a blind eye,” he said. “The days of blindness are over.”
About the author
Caroline Fisher is a news writer for HotNewHipHop from Chicago, Illinois. She started working at HNHH this year and has since devoted herself to writing all things newsworthy in the hip-hop world. She is passionate about finding the hottest stories and loves documenting new developments in culture and entertainment. She also appreciates hip-hop music and is dedicated to covering the most important trends and shifts. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduates in 2022 with an English major and a concentration in media, rhetoric and cultural studies. She specializes in music, pop culture, and entertainment, and some of her favorite musical artists include Snoop Dogg, OutKast, and Nicki Minaj. When she’s not writing music, she also enjoys performing, watching the latest movies, keeping up with current events, photography, and poetry.
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