A high-profile legal battle between Canadian rapper Drake and Universal Music Group (UMG) has taken another turn.
On August 6, 2025, California Superior Court Judge Jeannette A. Vargas granted Drake’s legal team permission to serve a subpoena on Kojo Menne Asamoah, a potential witness in the case, through alternative methods including certified mail, email, and door-posting after months of unsuccessful attempts to find him.
The move is part of Drake’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against UMG, which claims the label actively promoted Kendrick Lamar’s hit Not Like Us to harm Drake’s reputation.
“We have spent considerable resources trying to reach Mr. Asamoah through traditional means,”
Drake’s attorney wrote in court filings.
“This order ensures he can no longer evade service.”
The dispute centres on Not Like Us, released in early 2025. Drake alleges the track contains false and damaging lyrics suggesting criminal behaviour, and that UMG amplified these allegations through high-profile performances including Super Bowl LIX, watched by over 133 million viewers, and the 2025 Grammy Awards, where the song won Song and Record of the Year.
According to the lawsuit, UMG’s promotional push was not only reputationally harmful but also artificially fuelled by inflated streaming numbers.
At the core of the subpoena is the practice known as “botting” artificially boosting a song’s streaming numbers using automated accounts, or so-called “stream farms.” These bots can make a track appear more popular than it actually is, influencing music charts, royalties, and public perception.
Drake’s legal team claims UMG and its associates, possibly including Asamoah, either facilitated or ignored such manipulation for Not Like Us. UMG and Spotify have denied these allegations, calling them “absurd” and “without merit.”
Court filings describe Asamoah as a key witness who may have knowledge of botting operations and confidential payment arrangements linked to UMG executive Ramon Alvarez-Smikle. Drake’s lawyers say they spent $75,000 trying to track him down, visiting multiple addresses and contacting family and business associates.
He is among 63 potential witnesses identified by Drake’s team a list that also includes UMG CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and Interscope Records CEO John Janick.
The case touches on a wider debate about authenticity in the streaming era. Inflated streaming numbers can distort chart rankings, mislead fans, and shift millions in royalties.
Music industry lawyer Sarah McLean told this outlet:
“If these allegations are proven, it could push for stricter transparency rules in how streaming data is reported and how labels promote music.”
UMG, in its own filings, has argued the lawsuit is “an attack on artistic freedom” and warned against courts interfering with creative expression.
A tweet from X.
The subpoena marks a more aggressive phase in Drake’s evidence-gathering efforts. If Asamoah provides documents or testimony supporting Drake’s botting claims, the case could set a precedent for how streaming fraud is handled in court.
The outcome may influence marketing ethics across the music industry, especially for streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music where data manipulation can mean millions in extra revenue.
For now, the focus shifts to whether Asamoah responds and whether his testimony will strengthen Drake’s case, or expose fault lines in one of the most closely watched music industry lawsuits of the decade.
