UMG Accuses Drake of Attempting to 'Weaponize' the Legal System in Desperate Bid to Silence Rival Artists

Drake recently filed a lawsuit against his label Universal Music Group (UMG), and the label has since called the claims "illogical" and accused the artist of trying to use the system as a "weapon" to challenge artistic expression.

The announcement comes after Drake dropped legal papers he had filed against UMG and Spotify on January 14.

Drake claims in a new lawsuit that UMG waged a smear campaign against him by promoting Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us."

The suit states that UMG had encouraged the feud, which the rapper claims contained millions of counterfeit plays and views across various locations, including the streamers, content creators, and other bots behind the UMG track, without regard for the song.

On January 15, UMG dismissed these claims, calling the idea of damaging Drake's name "nonsensical." The label noted it has invested heavily in his music and has backed his career for many years.

"Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical," the statement read.

"We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success."

The music label also accused Drake of seeking to "weaponize" the legal process with his recent submission, alleging he's previously sought to use UMG as a conduit to create public battles with artists since UMG has more visibility.

"He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist's creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist's music," stated UMG.

Finally, UMG reiterated its resolve to fight against what it described as "frivolous litigation," and without any defamatory intent against any individual at all.

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