"This is bigger than Drake" - DJ Akademiks claims UMG's court loss against rapper could spark new lawsuits against the music giants

UMG and Drake's dismissal hearing for their lawsuit took place on June 30, 2025. For the unversed, the Canadian rapper sued the record label for apparently promoting Not Like Us, despite being aware of the lyrics of the song that called Drizzy a "p*dophile." Meanwhile, DJ Akademiks had shared his opinion on the ongoing case.

On July 1, a clip from one of his latest livestreams went viral after it was uploaded by @joebuddenclips/fanpage on X. According to DJ Akademiks, a situation where UMG attempted to settle the case could spark even more suits against the massive record labels. He said,

"Bro, they're not gonna sell this. This is bigger than Drake... This is way bigger than just one artist."

DJ Akademiks compared the current situation to the lawsuits against Diddy, saying Diddy "sold" the first settlement, which led to more people suing him. Akademiks believes UMG won’t repeat that mistake by settling a case that’s already gained a lot of public attention.

Elsewhere during the livestream, Akademiks got candid about what he thought the repercussions would be in case Drake won the suit. He continued,

"If Drake wins this lawsuit, it's not only about calling somebody a p*dophile, it signals that any song that Universal has released that's defamatory, that has hurt people, that has caused or instigated death, they are liable for."

Akademiks kept emphasizing his notion that Universal Music Group and Drizzy would not go for a settlement at any cost. He explained that in case the record label lost the case, they would have to pay for all the questionable lyrics in diss tracks and rap beefs to date.

During the livestream, DJ Akademiks said he believed the Canadian rapper had a strong case and that the judge seemed open to hearing it. He added that if Drake won the lawsuit, it could encourage mothers who lost children to violence linked to harmful lyrics to sue the record labels.

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UMG's legal team argued that "certified p*dophile" was only a play on Drake's sixth album title, Certified Lover Boy

As aforementioned, the dismissal hearing took place on June 30, and the record label's legal team had seemingly attempted to explain the lyrics "certified p*dophile" in the courthouse. According to Universal Music Group's legal team, the lyrics were only a play on Certified Lover Boy, Drizzy's sixth studio album.

This prompted the judge to question whether this reference could be understood and comprehended by a regular listener. The attorney then responded by saying,

"The context is all the rumors about Drake and young females."

Attorney Rollin Ransom, a lawyer representing the record label, had further argued on Monday that the lyrics used in rap music were "trash-talking to the extreme" and should not be considered as facts. According to Ransom, it was natural for a regular listener to understand that the lyrics were not official statements about Drizzy.

The first suit was filed earlier this year by the Hotline Bling rapper. Then, in April 2025, he filed an amended lawsuit. The rapper had also used iHeartMedia over similar claims, according to which the media company took illegal money from UMG to boost the airplay of the diss track by Kendrick Lamar. The case, however, was taken down after the two parties reportedly reached a settlement.

iHeartMedia has kept saying throughout that they were not involved in any kind of wrongdoing as accused by the rapper in the suit.

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"UMG is desperate to see this case not move forward" - said a spokesperson for Drake

On Monday, the two parties gave arguments that would eventually decide if the lawsuit would be dismissed or not. On Tuesday, July 1, Drake's spokesperson issued a statement claiming that Universal Music Group had been trying their best to stop the case from moving forward. According to Rap Up, the rep said,

"UMG is desperate to see this case not move forward because the company can't hide its misconduct in a courtroom the way it does in the boardroom."

The spokesperson additionally stated that despite this apparent desperation, soon the record label would be answerable to a lot of artists and individuals who have been allegedly exploited.

"Soon, in addition to facing concerned regulators and investors, the leadership of music’s most powerful label will have to answer for the damage it has caused to every artist that has been silenced, " said the rep.

In the suit, Drizzy had further claimed that the label used bots to facilitate "approving, publishing and launching a campaign to create a viral hit from a rap track." On Monday, neither Kendrick Lamar nor Drake was present at the courthouse during the dismissal hearing.