Kai Cenat was one of many content creators named in Drake’s new lawsuit against Kendrick Lamar, the Canadian rapper alleging the streamer’s reaction was “whitelisted” in order to turn a profit.
Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef dominated the internet in 2024, the hip-hop juggernauts duking it out with multiple diss tracks that got increasingly more personal. It all came to an end when K-Dot dropped ‘Not Like Us,’ however, effectively winning the war as Drake went silent.
Now, months after the rapping battle, Drake is commencing a new battle in the courts. A lawsuit was filed on January 15, 2025, against Universal Music Group (UMG), the record label that represents both Drake and Kendrick.
The lawsuit alleges UMG helped promote Not Like Us, even though the lyrics of the track contain “false accusations of pedophilia.” Not only that, but the 81-page document further claims UMG artificially boosted the track’s popularity by pushing reactions from various content creators, including Kai Cenat.
Drake takes aim at content creators for Not Like Us reactions
Influencers like Kai Cenat, Zias, NoLifeShaq, RDC Gaming, and others were highlighted in the lawsuit, with claims they were able to monetize their reaction videos without fear of being struck with copyright infringement.
As a result of this alleged ‘whitelisting,’ it’s claimed the lack of copyright enforcement helped the track’s “defamatory” remarks go viral, and even lead to a surge in profits for UMG.
“These content creators could not have legally republished the Defamatory Material in full or profited from their reaction videos without UMG first whitelisting the recording,” the lawsuit reads.
Not only that, but Drake’s legal team also went on to claim the record label paid cash in hand for a number of influencers across Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to “post content for the purpose of spreading to larger audiences.”
Amusingly enough, despite being his rival in the beef, this lawsuit holds nothing against Kendrick Lamar personally. One statement even clarifies “The lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us.’
“It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false but dangerous.
“UMG did so because it understood that the Recording’s inflammatory and shocking allegations were a gold mine.”
Drake and his team are seeking compensation for alleged damages, though no specific sum has been disclosed.
UMG issued a statement shortly after the lawsuit was publicized, shutting down the claims as “untrue” and “illogical.”
“We have invested massively in [Drake’s] music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.
“He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”