"But he tryna sue for defamation and damages"— Internet reacts to Drake named the most-streamed rapper on Spotify in November
Drake has become the most streamed rapper on Spotify for the month of November. According to Hip Hop All Day on X, the Canadian artist racked up 1.08 billion streams on the platform despite not releasing a single new album throughout the year.
As per Chart Data, Drizzy is also the top-selling hip-hop artist in 2024 in terms of album units. The Canadian rapper has amassed over 80 billion streams on Spotify from his 331 tracks on the platform.
In terms of artists across genres, Taylor Swift leads the back with over 92 billion streams, followed by Drizzy. Bad Bunny (>76 billion streams), The Weeknd (>62 billion streams), and Ed Sheeran (>50 billion streams) make up the top five.
Netizens reacted to Drake topping the charts for November amid his ongoing legal case with Universal Music Group (UMG).
"But he tryna sue for defamation and damages," a netizen commented on X.
"The GOAT of the music and I am tired of the disrespect," another opined.
"Despite everything they did against my boy/ But he still remains on top/ Greatest to ever touch the mic/ 11/11 so far," a fan announced.
Many fans used the opportunity to seemingly diss Kendrick Lamar. The Compton rapper was involved in one of the most heated rap diss battles with Drizzy in 2024.
"Bro dropped an album yet Drake still the most streamed," one user opined.
"Lmao didn’t a midget release an album in November? How you flop AND get outstreamed," another chimed in.
"Tyler dropped, Kendrick dropped, it doesn't matter they are still getting outstreamed and outsold by drake who hasn't even dropped an album," one netizen inferred on X.
Some other opinions on X are as follows:
"The most streamed rapper with not one hit song this entire year, while K-Dot has three different songs that went number one this year. Making…HISTORY," argued a fan on X.
"Drake isn’t part of the culture… this is why he is suing the record label because he claims they paid radio outlets to play NOT LIKE US… he should know because he was on the other side of the stick and we all heard Drake over n over he is definitely not looking good “culture”," one fan opined.
"Damn Kendrick dropped a whole album and has the biggest song in the country, still couldn't beat Drake," another wrote.
"He got some hella good hits/ Most his fanpages are annoying ASF but he's a great artist," one fan inferred on X.
Drake files pre-action petitions against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar's chart-topper
Drake recently filed two pre-action petitions against Universal Music Group alleging that the music label partnered with conglomerates like Spotify, Apple, and iHeartMedia to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's chart-topper Not Like Us.
The first claim targets UMG and Spotify, alleging that they violated RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) and manipulated streams through social media influencers and using bots and payolas. The second pre-action petition called out UMG and iHeartMedia and claimed defamation. Interestingly, both rappers' works are distributed by UMG.
Not Like Us was one of the most popular diss tracks from the infamous feud between the two rappers. Released on May 3, the song doubled down on the personal attacks made by K Dot in Meet The Grahams and further called Drizzy a "certified p*dophile."
According to a report published on November 26, Drizzy's lawyers said:
“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed.. But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn Not Like Us into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake…”
His lawyers zeroed in on the defamation charges, claiming:
“Before it approved the release of the song, UMG knew that the song itself... attacked the character of another one of UMG’s most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a s*x offender, engaging in pedo*philic acts, harboring s*x offenders and committing other criminal s*xual acts...”
The first pre-action petition also alleged that UMG paid Apple to misdirect users and make them listen to Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us. As per Billboard, Drizzy's lawyers claimed that online sources reported Siri playing K Dot's Not Like Us when users asked the voice assistant to play Drake's Certified Lover Boy.
However, a UMG spokesperson flatly denied the claims made by Drizzy, as per Variety.
"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,” said the UMG representative.
The legal drama adds another chapter to the longstanding feud between Drizzy and Kendrick Lamar.
