Drake Applauds the Judge for Turning Down UMG’s Attempt to Postpone the “Not Like Us” Case

Last month, Universal Music Group submitted a motion to halt discovery.

Drake is prepared to reveal the secrets of Universal Music Group (UMG). 

Judge Jeanette Vargas denied the label’s move to halt discovery in the Canadian rapper’s defamation lawsuit against Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” during a pre-trial meeting in New York on Wednesday, April 2.

Drake and his principal lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, rejoiced with a press release that said, “Now it’s time to see what UMG was so desperately trying to hide,” according to reporter Meghann Cuniff.

His own request to obtain K. Dot’s contracts with UMG and metrics that determined pay, bonuses, and other things for Interscope CEO John Janick and other executives during the previous five years can now be carried out.

The “NOKIA” rapper’s initial round of discovery demands, according to Variety, would “cause undue burden” and “require costly collection and review of large swaths of hard-copy and electronic data sets, contracts and agreements, and communications,” according to UMG’s March 18 filing and motion. 

As heard on “Not Like Us,” Drake filed a lawsuit against UMG in January, alleging defamation, harassment, and the dissemination of the “false and malicious narrative” that he is a pedophile. He asserted that Universal continued to profitably promote the Grammy-winning album despite knowing that Lamar’s lyrics and the visuals from its music video were hazardous and untrue. Additionally, he charged that the label and Spotify were planning to “falsely inflate streaming numbers” for “Not Like Us.” Both firms have now refuted that claim.

Just last month, UMG responded by filing a move to dismiss the case completely, saying that his only reason for suing was that he “lost a rap battle.”

It said, “In a misplaced attempt to patch things up, he has sued his own record label rather than embracing the loss like the unconcerned rap artist he frequently portrays himself as. The plaintiff’s complaint should be rejected with prejudice because it is completely without merit.

A hearing on the move to dismiss the complaint was set for June 30 by Judge Vargas.