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Drake has recently posted a cutscene from the Infamous 2 video game on his Instagram story amid his recent legal filing against Universal Media Group (UMG). On Monday, November 25, the Canadian rapper initiated legal action against UMG, alleging that the company partnered with Apple and Spotify to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us.
In a Manhattan court filing on November 25, as reported by Billboard, Drake's Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG of using illegal schemes and devices like online bots, payolas, and other methods to exponentially increase the popularity of Kendrick's Not Like Us. Notably, the song was released as a Drizzy diss track during the peak of the infamous beef between Drizzy and Kendrick Lamar.
The 20-second clip features the narrator talking about rising after a failure. He says:
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"I don't know if you've ever let someone down, got your ass kicked or straight up failed. But those are the moments that define us. They push you farther than ever though possible”
Fans took to X to share their reactions to the cryptic story posted by the Canadian rapper. Some popular comments on X are as follows:
"Drake a sony guy? He posted GoW and Infamous during this beef lmao," a fan wrote on X.
"Not Drake tarnishing an amazing game with his weird a** ways!" another commented.
"Dude really put up infamous...." another fan wrote.
One user opined that Drizzy got paid to promote the game, writing:
"He needs to disclose that he got paid to promote that game."
"Drake posting infamous 2 trailers about being defeated we are living in the funniest timeline i’m CRYING," one netizen declared.
"Drake does NOT know inFamous 2, he does NOT know ball," another opined.
Some other comments on X are as follows:
"I respect him for admitting to that a** whooping, I hope he heals," a fan announced on X.
"Him trying to defend his dry snitching for sh*t he took advantage of is wild. I blame the Stans for trying to stand the ground on this bs. It’s fair when your boy do it but not ok when someone else does it lol this gonna be bad for all parties involved cause my eyes can see what yall can’t lol," another commented.
"Drake really posting motivational quotes about failure while his lawyers draft lawsuits is the same energy as those LinkedIn influencers who call setbacks "learning opportunities.," one fan chimed in.
What is a pre-action petition? Drake's legal action against UMG is not a lawsuit but could potentially lead to one
Legally, Drizzy filed a pre-action petition against UMG on November 25. According to LexisNexis, pre-action is defined as a period after a dispute but before the commencement of formal legal proceedings. Under New York Law, a party aims to seek information before filing an official lawsuit through a pre-action petition.
The petition filed by Drake's legal team alleges that UMG violated federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) laws and accused the company of practicing deceptive practices and false advertising. Interestingly, both K Dot and Drizzy's work is distributed by UMG.
According to the legal documents, the rapper claimed that UMG used streaming services and other online tools to artificially inflate the streaming numbers of Not Like Us.
"(UMG) conspired with and paid currently unknown parties to use ‘bots’ to artificially inflate the spread of ‘Not Like Us’ and deceive consumers into believing the song was more popular than it was in reality."
According to a report by Verge, the Manhattan court filing by Drake's lawyers alleged that UMG charged Spotify 30% less than their normal licensing rates for Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us.
"UMG charged Spotify licensing rates 30 percent lower than its usual licensing rates for “Not Like Us” in exchange for Spotify affirmatively recommending the song to users who are searching for other unrelated songs and artists," Drizzy's legal team asserted.
The documents further stated that Spotify and UMG didn't disclose the compensation received for allegedly promoting the song. Another report from Billboard stated that UMG paid social media influencers to promote their song.
Apple is another multi-billionaire conglomerate mentioned in the legal document filed by Drizzy's lawyers. They alleged that UMG paid Apple to have its voice assistant Siri artificially misdirect users and make them listen to Not Like Us.
“Online sources reported that when users asked Siri to play the album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ by [Drizzy], Siri instead played ‘Not Like Us,’ which contains the lyric ‘certified ped*phile,’ an allegation against Drake,” claimed Drizzy's lawyers, as per Billboard.
Although Apple has refrained from commenting on the allegations, a spokesperson from UMG said (via Variety):
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
The legal step by Drizzy adds yet another chapter to the longstanding feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
