Kojo Menne Asamoah is the individual Drake’s legal team has identified as an alleged intermediary who directed payments from Universal Music Group to third parties running bots to inflate streams of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” He surfaced publicly in 2025 through court filings in Drake’s defamation lawsuit against UMG, and Drake’s attorneys spent roughly $75,000 and required a federal judge’s intervention before they could serve him with a subpoena. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and the allegations against him remain unproven claims in a lawsuit that was dismissed at the district court level.
What Drake’s Filings Allege He Did
Court filings describe Asamoah as someone with direct knowledge of what Drake’s lawyers call UMG’s “covert tactics” to promote “Not Like Us.” Specifically, the filings allege he was involved in “directing payments and/or financial incentives from UMG to third parties involved in online botting for the purpose of artificially inflating the streaming numbers” of the track.1XXL Magazine. Drake UMG Lawsuit Bot Scandal
The filings tie that alleged conduct to Ramon Alvarez-Smikle, described in Drake’s papers as Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Marketing at UMG’s Interscope Records. Drake’s attorneys allege Asamoah carried out the payment activity “through and/or in connection with his relationship” with Alvarez-Smikle, coordinating “secretive payments and/or financial incentives” on his behalf.2Vibe. Potential Witnesses in Drake Lawsuit Against UMG3Hypebeast. Judge Approves Drake Subpoena Key Witness in UMG Not Like Us Case The picture Drake’s team paints is of a bot campaign running through Interscope’s digital marketing operation, with Asamoah as a key conduit.
The bot allegations sit inside a wider set of claims. Drake’s filings allege UMG paid unknown parties to generate roughly 30 million artificial streams on Spotify to “jumpstart” the song, and that UMG reduced its licensing rates to Spotify in exchange for algorithmic promotion.4Forbes. Drake-UMG Dispute: Transparency in the Streaming Age5Deadline. Drake Claims UMG Spotify Conspired to Artificially Inflate Kendrick Lamar Not Like Us UMG has categorically denied the streaming manipulation claims. A spokesperson called them “offensive and untrue” and said “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.”6CBS News. Drake Accuses Spotify, UMG of Artificially Inflating Streams for Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us
What Is Publicly Known About Him
Very little. According to the X account @OVODocket, Asamoah held the title of Senior Director of Digital Marketing at Interscope Records, though that has not been independently confirmed.1XXL Magazine. Drake UMG Lawsuit Bot Scandal An Instagram account linked to him uses the handle @kojodeepseaofficial.7Digital Music News. Drake Serve Kojo Menne Asamoah Beyond that, no verified public biographical information appears in the record.
The person he is allegedly linked to has a clearer paper trail. Alvarez-Smikle joined Interscope Geffen A&M in 2016 and was promoted to Senior Vice President and Head of Urban Digital Marketing in December 2020, overseeing digital marketing campaigns for the label group’s hip-hop and R&B roster.8Variety. Interscope Ramon Alvarez-Smikle Urban Digital Marketing9Music Business Worldwide. Ramon Alvarez-Smikle Promoted to SVP Head of Urban Digital Marketing at Interscope Drake’s filings assign him the higher EVP title, suggesting a later promotion the 2020 reporting does not document.
The $75,000 Hunt to Serve Him
Locating Asamoah proved unusually difficult. Drake’s legal team told the court it had spent $75,000 on process servers and private investigators trying to serve him, with at least 11 unsuccessful attempts at various locations. Traditional service failed.10Music Business Worldwide. Drake Wins Court Approval to Serve Key Witness in UMG Defamation Case
On August 6, 2025, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Drake’s motion for alternative service. The order authorized Drake’s attorneys to serve the subpoena by certified mail to five physical addresses connected to Asamoah, his family, and his business ventures, and by email to three active addresses linked to him.3Hypebeast. Judge Approves Drake Subpoena Key Witness in UMG Not Like Us Case The subpoena required him to produce documents, information, and objects related to the alleged botting activities.1XXL Magazine. Drake UMG Lawsuit Bot Scandal Service went out on August 7, 2025.
Asamoah was one of 63 individuals and entities Drake’s team identified as potential witnesses in a June 2, 2025 filing, a list that also reached UMG CEO Lucian Grainge, Interscope CEO John Janick, and major streaming platforms.11Billboard. Drake UMG Lawsuit Witnesses Among those 63 names, his was the one that required a federal judge’s help to reach.
Where the Allegations Stand Now
The bot claims tied to Asamoah were never tested on the merits. On October 9, 2025, Judge Vargas granted UMG’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, ruling that the statements in “Not Like Us” were “nonactionable opinion” in the context of a “heated rap battle” and that a reasonable listener would not take the lyrics as verifiable statements of fact.12ABC News. Drake Defamation Case Dismissed Against UMG Over Kendrick Lamar Parts of Drake’s theory were called “logically incoherent,” including the argument that UMG’s release of the song converted Lamar’s opinions into UMG’s own factual statements.5Deadline. Drake Claims UMG Spotify Conspired to Artificially Inflate Kendrick Lamar Not Like Us
The dismissal turned on whether the lyrics were opinion, not on whether the streaming inflation happened. The court did not rule on the bot allegations or on the evidence Asamoah was subpoenaed to produce.
Drake appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in January 2026, arguing the district court committed “reversible error” by relying on materials outside the complaint and drawing adverse inferences against him.13Music Business Worldwide. Drake Pushes Back on UMG at Appeals Court UMG’s March 2026 response accused Drake of trying to “strip words from their context” and “critically undermine a highly creative art form built on exaggeration, insult, and wordplay.”14Musically. UMG Hits Back at Drake’s Appeal in Not Like Us Lawsuit Briefing concluded with a Drake reply on April 17, 2026, and a final filing in early May 2026. No oral argument has been scheduled and no decision has been issued.15CourtListener. Graham v. UMG Recordings, Inc., Second Circuit Docket
What that means for Asamoah: his name is publicly attached to one of the most prominent music industry legal disputes in recent memory, but the claims about him come from one side’s legal filings in a case that has been dismissed. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and no court has found the botting allegations to be true.