Ebro Claims “Nothing Has Ever Come” From Drake’s Payola Allegations

Drake has taken the music industry to task. The rapper is suing his own label, Universal Music Group, and Spotify for allegedly using shady business tactics. Drake believes the two companies used payola and “schemes” to boost the numbers for Kendrick Lamar‘s diss song, “Not Like Us.” The industry has been extremely critical of the 6 God as a result. Some believe the Toronto rapper is being a hypocrite, while others, like Ebro Darden, believe he’s setting himself up for a loss.

Ebro discussed the Drake lawsuit during an episode of his Apple Music show. He acknowledged that the rapper has been tremendously successful over the years. He also called Drake out for trying to prove an allegation that has hounded the music industry for decades. An allegation that Ebro suggests is not really true. “I’ve worked in the radio business and the media for 30 years,” he explained. “There’s allegations of payola… I’ve been investigated, people I’ve worked with been investigated and nothing has ever come to fruition.” Ebro assured fans that he has never taken money to promote an artist, and has therefore never been at risk for legal action.

Ebro Darden claims that he has never taken money because he believes it “disables your ability to say ‘f*ck off’ when you hate a song.” He believes that any radio personality or tastemaker who would take money would be compromised, because they would be at the beck and call of a given artist or record label. Ebro backed up his claim of not accepting payola by listing off the famous artists who’ve never granted him an interview. “I’ve never sat with Kanye, I’ve never sat with Hov,” he asserted. “Never sat with Beyonce.”

The reason Ebro doubts Drake’s payola allegations is that he believes it takes a lot more to launch an artist. “If it’s as easy as just paying to get your record popping, go,” he asserted. “The truth of the matter is it’s not that easy.” At the end of the day, the radio host believes that it comes down to people’s tastes. “To get popping,” he restated. “That’s the people’s decision.” His example? Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”