Lifestyle

Rumor About Universal Music Group Mediating Drake & Kendrick Beef Not True

Published

2 years ago

May 7, 2024

Rumor About Universal Music Group Mediating Drake & Kendrick Beef Not True

There’s a rumor going around that Drake and Kendrick Lamar‘s shared music label tried to force them to squash their beef — but turns out, it’s totally unfounded … TMZ has learned.

Here’s the deal … a blind item is being circulated that purports to have the inside scoop on an alleged meeting between Kendrick, Drake and Universal Music Group … which both artists are technically signed to via distribution subsidiaries.

the blind item_drake_kendrick lamar

There’s a few bullet points addressed in the blind item — including the claim that UMG honchos tried to force Kendrick to capitulate to Drake and apologize and squash things.

The blind item — citing purported insiders — said UMG wanted to have K.Dot put out a statement acknowledging that Drake is not, in fact, a pedophile … this while alleging that UMG brass was viewing Drake as losing big time in the beef and it hurting their bottom line.

It also sounded pretty thorough and detailed … but sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ there was no such meeting between UMG, Drake and Kendrick … and that this entire little narrative — which is starting to go viral online — is completely made up and not true.

We’re told not only did UMG not insert itself here … but our sources, who are familiar with the inner workings of the label, say Universal would never jump into something like this.

The way it was explained to us … Kendrick and Drake’s beef is between them and completely separate from the business side of things — and UMG just doesn’t think it’s their place to step in either way. So, they didn’t … nor did they ever consider doing so.

Mind you, there’s also the fact that all these music drops have clearly only helped them. All the tracks between these two guys have spurred lots of streams and plays — and that’s dollars for UMG … so, objectively, there’s a financial incentive to keep a beef like this going.

Now, in terms of whether it actually will keep going or die on the vine … all signs point to the latter. DJ Hed telegraphed this earlier this week, suggesting Drake was throwing in the towel and moving on. Of course, that was before a shooting took place at Drake’s house.

No telling how the unfortunate development may affect things in the music space — on the issue of either of these titans being brought in by the principal to work out their problems … we’re told it’s complete BS.

Here’s hoping they can work out their issues quietly (and non-violently) behind the scenes.

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Lifestyle

‘Wait Wait’ for February 28. 2026: Live in Bloomington with Lilly King!

Published

3 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

‘Wait Wait’ for February 28. 2026: Live in Bloomington with Lilly King!

An underwater view shows US’ Lilly King competing in a heat of the women’s 200m breaststroke swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 31, 2024. (Photo by François-Xavier MARIT / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT/AFP via Getty Images)

François-Xavier Marit/Getty Images

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François-Xavier Marit/Getty Images

This week’s show was recorded in Bloomington, Indiana with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Lilly King and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Josh Gondelman, and Faith Salie. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.

Who’s Bill This Time

State of the Union is Hot; The Tribal Council Convenes Again; A Glow Up In the Doll Aisle

Panel Questions

The Toot Tracker

Bluff The Listener

Our panelists tell three stories about a travel hack in the news, only one of which is true.

Not My Job: Olympic Swimmer Lilly King answers our questions about Lil’ Kings

Olympic Swimmer Lilly King plays our game called, “Lilly King meet these Lil’ Kings” Three questions about short kings.

Panel Questions

Cleaning Out The Cabinet; Bedtime Stacking

Limericks

Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Getting Cozy With Cross Country Skiing; Pickleball’s New Competition; Bees Get Freaky

Lightning Fill In The Blank

All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else

Predictions

Our panelists predict, after American Girls, what’ll be the next toy to get an update.

Lifestyle

Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Married, Her Longtime Stylist Claims

Published

4 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Married, Her Longtime Stylist Claims

Law Roach
Zendaya and Tom’s Wedding Already Happened …
Y’all Missed It!!!

Published
March 1, 2026
6:34 PM PST

Zendaya and Tom Holland are married … so claims her longtime stylist, Law Roach.

Here’s the deal … the celebrity stylist — who started styling Zendaya way back in 2011 — spoke to Access Hollywood on the Actors Awards red carpet where he sang out “The wedding has already happened, you missed it.”

Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.

The AH reporter asks in shock if that’s true … and, Law responds by saying it’s “very true” before walking off.

This isn’t the first time Tom and Zendaya’s relationship status has made headlines on a red carpet … remember at the Golden Globes in 2025, Zendaya had a ring on that finger — and, the next day, we found out the two were engaged.

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TMZ.com

Zendaya and Tom met on the set of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” in 2016, started dating a couple years later and went public with their relationship in 2021.

We’ve reached out to Tom and Zendaya’s teams … so far, no word back.

Lifestyle

Bet on Anything, Everywhere, All at Once : Up First from NPR

Published

15 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Bet on Anything, Everywhere, All at Once : Up First from NPR

Online prediction market platforms allow people to place bets on wide-ranging subjects such as sports, finance, politics and currents events.

Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images

The rise of prediction markets means you can now bet on just about anything, right from your phone. Apps like Kalshi and Polymarket have grown exponentially in President Trump’s second term, as his administration has rolled back regulations designed to keep the industry in check. Billions of dollars have flooded in, and users are placing bets on everything from whether it will rain in Seattle today to whether the US will take over control of Greenland. Who’s winning big on these apps? And who is losing? NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn joins The Sunday Story to explain how these markets came to be and where they are going.

This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo. It was edited by Liana Simstrom and Brett Neely. Fact-checking by Barclay Walsh and Susie Cummings. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez.

We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org.

Listen to Up First on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.