Time doesn’t seem fit for Lucian Grainge, as the UMG CEO surprisingly stumbled into the pitfalls of Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs’ alleged s*xual abuse lawsuit, while facing a petition from Drake for conspiring to inflate the streams of Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us. With two career-threatening accusations, Grainge seems to be awaiting the most stressful moment of his life.
Amid such tantalizing reports surrounding Lucian Grainge, Kanye West’s controversial comments about the UMG CEO resurfaced, prompting fans to wonder if Grainge is indeed as notorious as the accusations are claiming.
Lucian Grainge Fired Back After Being Dragged into P Diddy’s Lawsuit
According to reports from NPR, while Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs was awaiting his May 5 trial on federal charges of s*x trafficking and racketeering, names of his accomplices came to the limelight, after his victims opened up. Celebrities like Liza Gardner, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, Crystal McKinney, and more, unanimously accused UMG Recordings and Universal Music Group at large, of helping Diddy continue his heinous crimes.
While most victims accused UMG at large, it was Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones’ lawsuit that included specific names of Diddy’s co-conspirators. Therein, former Motown CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam and UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge were identified as co-defendants for “aiding, abetting and inducing” P. Diddy to run his alleged s*xual abuse on his victims.
However, as per Billboard, UMG CEO Lucian Grainge later fired back at Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones’ lawsuit that accused him of being a co-conspirator in P. Diddy’s crimes. Attorneys of Grainge claimed that the accusations were so “offensively false” that they not only blasted attorney Tyrone Blackburn for filing the “false allegations”, but also planned to seek legal penalties against him.
UMG’s lawyers said;
Mr. Blackburn, plaintiff’s lawyer, has misused [his] license to self-promote, gratuitously, falsely, and recklessly accusing the UMG defendants of criminal behavior.
The [complaint] hurls accusations of criminal racketeering and criminal s*x trafficking against the UMG defendants, respected individuals, and companies having utterly nothing to do with plaintiff’s claims.
These accusations are recklessly false and, but for the fact that they are embodied in a complaint, would be libelous.
While the lawsuit is ongoing, attorney Tyrone Blackburn responded to the UMG motion by calling it a “public relations stunt”. Further, having complete faith in the case he filed, Blackburn even challenged UMG to produce their financial records. Unfortunately, despite the attorney’s confidence, Grainge was later dropped from a list of defendants in the s*xual assault and trafficking case (via The Huntington News).
Drake Accused Lucian Grainge of Conspiring Against His Record Sales
Meanwhile, after facing the notorious allegations surrounding P. Diddy’s lawsuit that irrevocably damaged his reputation, UMG CEO Lucian Grainge witnessed yet another legal blow from the Canadian rapper, Drake. According to CBS News, Drizzy filed a legal petition against UMG and accused them of serious wrongdoing in his rap battle against Kendrick Lamar.
The petition filed in New York court accused the streaming service Spotify and UMG of conspiring to inflate the streams of Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss track, which significantly affected the popularity of Drake‘s music, leading him to struggle against Lamar in the battle. As the petition acting as a pre-action motion is gathering information in pursuit of a civil claim under the RICO Act, Spotify, and UMG might face a lawsuit based on the result of this petition.
Meanwhile, notorious allegations surrounding UMG emerged online as @FlakkoPoetik tried solidifying Drake’s petition by claiming that the music group reportedly tried controlling the Canadian rapper and his deal with them, by using Kendrick Lamar’s rap as a way of defaming Drizzy. Recalling alleged incidents surrounding how Michael Jackson was similarly defamed as an alleged p*dophile, the Twitterati connected that allegation with UMG.
However, using a Billboard article, netizens openly debunked the rumor claiming that the threats and allegations mentioned by @FlakkoPoetik are a hoax. But later on, while the X user’s comments about UMG, Michael Jackson, and Drake got fact-checked, Kanye West dropped a bombshell regarding how UMG CEO Lucian Grainge has indeed been controlling the Canadian rapper. Calling Grainge as Drizzy’s “rich baby daddy” on The Download Podcast, West sparked controversies (via @itsavibe).
Drake has a rich baby daddy named Lucian and Universal. He’s like, ‘man, my daddy got it. My daddy control the spins. My daddy got the DSPs. Drake has a rich baby daddy.
After dropping a remix of the Dot-featuring single Like That, where he called out UMG CEO Lucian Grainge by name, Kanye West explained his lyrics during the interview. Calling Grainge as Drake’s “rich baby daddy,” West noted that Drizzy’s music has become so commodified and controlled by UMG that it no longer connects with listeners.
Further, slamming Drake by stating that his “raps don’t mean sh*t”, Kanye West accused UMG of controlling the Canadian rapper’s music to its core. Now, amid Drizzy’s petition against Lucian Grainge, West’s controversial comments seemed to prompt fans to wonder if Grainge is genuinely responsible for violating the RICO Act.
