Why Drake Was Sued Over the Song ‘Marvins Room’
In 2011, Drake released the song “Marvins Room.” The song was the lead single on the album Take Care, and it received near-universal acclaim. There was at least one person who wasn’t happy about the song, though. In 2012, singer Ericka Lee sued Drake over the song, alleging that he promised her royalties and songwriting credit. Drake denied her claims.
Drake faced a lawsuit over his song ‘Marvins Room’
According to Lee, she and Drake had a romantic relationship between 2010 and 2011. Lee is also an artist, and she said that she and Drake wrote songs and poems back and forth while they were involved. One of the songs they allegedly worked on together was “Marvins Room.”
Per Rolling Stone, Lee claimed that Drake promised to split the song’s earnings with her. She also alleged that Drake sent her text messages giving her credit for the song, including one that reportedly read, “U basically made that song.” She said that Drake offered her 4 to 5% of the publishing royalties and a $50,000 settlement.
With her lawsuit, Lee sought a co-writing credit and an undisclosed amount in damages.
Drake said he didn’t promise Ericka Lee any financial compensation for ‘Marvins Room’
According to Drake, the entirety of Lee’s story was blatantly false. Per a separate Rolling Stone report, Drake said Lee “consented to the use of her voice in the song ‘Marvin’s Room’ for no compensation.”
In 2013, Drake and Lee settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.
He is currently considering legal action over ‘Not Like Us’
In 2024, Drake is on the other end of a lawsuit. Several months after the release of Kendrick Lamar’s brutal diss track “Not Like Us,” Drake’s lawyers filed legal papers accusing his record label of defamation and illegal business practices. They said Universal Music Group illegally paid for iHeartRadio to play the song
“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” Drake’s attorneys wrote in the first filing, per Billboard. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”
The filings also claimed that Universal Music Group knew Lamar’s assertion that Drake is a “certified pedophile” was false, but they still chose to release the song. A representative for UMG denied the allegations.
“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the company said. “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.”
At this point, the filings are “pre-action petitions,” which seek to gather information to aid in a potential lawsuit. While the songs are Lamar’s, Drake is not suing the other artist.
