Drake is not messing around with UMG. The rapper's legal team has been pushing to move forward with their defamation suit, despite the record label's request to pause the case. Instead of obliging, however, the 6 God decided to file another motion for discovery. Drake's legal team filed a 24 page document on Monday. The motion accuses UMG, once again, of taking "unlawful" approaches in promoting Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss. The most fascinating aspect of the motion, however, is the fact that Drake references UMG's relationship with iHeartMedia, a company he recently reached a "resolution" with.
Drake may have been satisfied with the agreement his legal team struck with iHeartMedia behind closed doors. But he doubled down on the claim that UMG paid iHeartMedia to spin "Not Like Us." The rapper is adamant that UMG provided payment for radio play, and even pointed to iHeartMedia's current situation with the FCC as proof. FCC is investigating iHeartMedia for allegedly giving artists more spins in an effort to get them to play at their country festival. Drizzy's decision to iHeartMedia is surprising, given his legal team previously said they "have no further comment on this matter."
What Is Drake Suing UMG For?
The new motion for discovery was not merely to reiterate Drake's claims, however. The motion also came with several new requests for UMG. Drake is requesting a deposition of a UMG representative that will be at least four hours in length. The rapper's lawyers want to question said representative on promo tactics as well as methods for promotion with social media influences and radio stations. They also want to look into UMG's agreements with iHeartRadio and other streaming services. Bots, in particular, were listed as a potential talking point.
The motion for discovery requestioned UMG's promo strategy for Texas. Drake's lawyers want to get insight into the label's licensing and revenue deals in the Lone Star state. They're also curious about the contracts UMG has with Texas-based entities and employers. Drake and UMG have a pretrial conference set for April 2. Given that the rapper has been a punchline at both the Super Bowl and the recent Oscars ceremony, it makes why he'd be so eager to get to the bottom of what he claims is an egregious case of defamation.
