I hope you're not so out of touch that you need it, but I'll give you a quick summary of the context surrounding the lawsuit. Drake and Kendrick Lamar are both rappers that occupy vastly different lanes. While Drake has a pop rap sound and has strived for mainstream appeal, Kendrick Lamar is celebrated for his lyrical prowess. The pair have collaborated on songs such as Poetic Justice.
The good blood between the pair did not last, and there have been some subliminal shots sent back and forth. It came to a crescendo this year when they went back and forth releasing diss tracks. The rap battle culminated with the release of Not Like Us by Kendrick which most rap fans agree won the beef. In the song, Kendrick accuses Drake of being a p-dophile and of being a "culture vulture" who doesn't have a genuine claim to a Black identity.
Recently, just when the hype around the song was dying down, Drake decided to file a lawsuit against Universal Music Group and Spotify. As Billboard reports, the lawsuit claims that UMG and Spotify engaged in an illegal scheme to boost the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's song.
"UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices," attorneys for Drake's company write. "It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves."
Drake's attorneys accuse UMG of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the federal "RICO" statute often used in criminal cases against organized crime. They also allege deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York state law.
https://www.billboard.com/pro/drake-umg-spotify-schemed-boost-kendrick-not-like-us/
UMG responded to Billboard with the following:
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.
Reddit Reacts
I'll just post the screenshots
HipHopHeads
https://old.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1gzyulq/universal_music_group_responds_to_drake_legal/
https://old.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1gzv0et/drake_says_umg_and_spotify_schemed_to_boost/
KendrickLamar
https://old.reddit.com/r/KendrickLamar/comments/1gzuz58/drake_has_initiated_legal_action_against/
https://old.reddit.com/r/KendrickLamar/comments/1gzyn2k/universal_musics_response_to_the_claim_of/
Drizzy
https://old.reddit.com/r/Drizzy/comments/1gzv39e/drake_taking_legal_action_against_universal_and/
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It's hilarious how this beef just makes rap as a fricking whole look so fricking gay. They are fricking fighting like 15 year old girls.
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Rap diss tracks went from full-blown gang gunfights and murders into lawsuits against media megacorps because your feelings were hurt on le internetz, rap and hip-hop is probably one of the most explicit examples of corporate takeover of niche hobbies and subcultures. !music !nooticers
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Rap is fricking r-slurred kitty shit these days
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Drill is still a thing but most of the talent is now in prison or dead. Turns out making songs bragging about people you got away with murdering and taunting rival gangs rarely ends well
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They went from animalistic fights between barbarians to straggy shit between zesty neighbors
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This is what happens when WHITEY sticks their nose in your bussyness. It turns GAY. And not the good kind
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the entire rap genre started in the 90s when jews stopped getting blowjobs from Bernese mountain dogs and switched to effeminate middle class 'Down Low Brothas' like Tupac who was Sweeter Than a Sugar Plum.
All of this catty diss track nonsense, the obsession with status and shoes, dropping the jeans to show butt, the high AIDS rate in the industry, the P Diddy shit? The whole thing is a giant fruit bowl.
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!jidf !jews !downmarseyrs
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Acting like a b-word when someone insults you is one of the pillars of hip hop culture.
It's why there are so many shootings in front of nightclubs.
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Drake probably took a few lessons from one night stands with them.
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Black men are famously level-headed, after all
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Rap is gay and always has been lol
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