Drake fuels legal drama with Kendrick Lamar with another lawsuit

Drake, music mogul who has been embroiled in a heated legal war with Kendrick Lamar over his hit track They Not Like Us, filed a major lawsuit targeting top executives at Universal Music Group and marketing leaders at Interscope Records. 

The rapper claims that they secretly promoted Lamar’s diss track and arranged its Super Bowl halftime performance to damage his reputation.

The lawsuit listed several high-profile figures, including Ramon Alvarez Smikle, executive vice president at Interscope; Kojo Menne Asamoah; Jordan Bell, an urban influencer at Interscope; Steve Berman, president of marketing at Interscope; Tony the Hitmaker and his company Hitmaker Services Inc.; Tiffany Bullock, senior manager of influencer marketing; and Jesse Collins of Roc Nation.

Drake also pointed to Vincenza Conticchio, Interscope’s video and creative content commissioner for allegedly helping with the licensing and live performance of the track.

Other top executives were reportedly aware of the campaign included Bill Evans, EVP of urban promotion at Interscope; Jody Gerson, CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group; Sir Lucian Grainge, CEO of UMG; John Janick, CEO of Interscope; David Kaefer, VP at Spotify USA; along with several other leaders at UMG, Republic Records, and Capitol Music Group.

Court documents from August 18 reveal that the Which One hitmaker is seeking both legal relief and financial compensation, as he wants statutory and actual damages, treble damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and interest, all to be decided at trial with expert analysis.

This lawsuit puts several music executives under the spotlight and raises big questions about what happens behind the scenes in the music industry. 

However, fans and insiders are watching closely as Drake’s legal battle with Kendrick Lamar continues to grow.