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Drake is in a heated battle with Universal Music Group over the distribution of Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 anthem “Not Like Us.” Drake claims that the remarks made on the song were damaging to his reputation. Many have been critical of Drake’s decision to go the legal route. And according to one source, this is not even the first time that he has done so.
UMG Nearly Nixed Pop Smoke’s Album Because of Drake
Steven Victor, who produced the late Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album revealed he did the same thing with a Pusha T verse on the project. Push was supposed to be featured on one of the songs on the album. However, UMG believed that the verse was aimed at Drake. And the label threatened to nix the album if the verse was not removed.
“What happened on the Pop Smoke song is that UMG thought that he was dissing Drake on that song. He wasn’t, but they thought he was,” Victor said to Billboard.
“Pop Smoke was released on my label and obviously I managed Pusha. So they came to me and said, ‘We’re not going to put this out now, unless you get Pusha to change these lyrics.’ Even though it has nothing to do with Pop Smoke, they’re like, ‘Either he changes these lyrics, or we’re not putting the album out.’”
Victor also added: “What happened to freedom of speech? First of all, he’s not dissing Drake. But how do you get to tell him to just change his lyrics or you’re not putting this album out?”
Amid Drizzy’s lawsuit, Pusha echoed a similar sentiment, Noting that the lawsuit “cheapens the art”
“I don’t rate him no more. The suing thing is bigger than some rap sh–. I just don’t rate you,” the rap star said in a June 2025 interview with GQ.” “Damn, it’s like it just kind of cheapens the art of it once we gotta have real questions about suing and litigation. Like, what? For this?”
