Who is Dave Free? Kendrick Lamar relationship explained amid Drake’s lawsuit

Drake’s ongoing legal battle with the Universal Music Group has witnessed a new development as the rapper is seeking documents to clarify Dave Free's relationship with Kendrick Lamar’s kids, as reported by Hip Hop Min5 on August 13, 2025.

For the unversed, Dave Free has been active as a record producer and filmmaker over the years and has even served as a manager for Lamar in the past. He has additionally worked for the company TDE, where he was a co-president more than 10 years ago.

Dave’s name initially emerged when Drake and Kendrick were having a rap battle last year. According to Billboard, Drizzy released a diss track titled Family Matters in May 2024, where he referred to Dave’s association with Lamar’s children, as he was heard rapping:

“Your baby mama captions always screamin, ‘Save me’/ You did her dirty all her life, you tryna make peace/ I heard that one of them little kids might be Dave Free/Don’t make it dave freeze/ Cause if your GM is your BM secret BD.”

As per Hot New Hip Hop, Drake’s legal team is additionally requesting proof for the allegations against Kendrick Lamar about violence against women. Michael Gottlieb, an attorney for Drake, also revealed the reasons for seeking the documents and said:

“Such documents should reveal why, and under what circumstances, UMG believes it is appropriate to censor its artists’ expression, which plaintiff could evaluate alongside UMG’s decisions regarding ‘Not Like Us.’ UMG’s past practice, and knowledge regarding prior defamatory material it has refused to publish, would be highly probative of UMG’s knowledge here.”

Drake originally sued UMG in November last year, claiming that the latter allegedly boosted the streaming records for Kendrick Lamar’s single Not Like Us by various methods, including bots, as stated by NBC News. Lamar released the single during his rap battle with Drake.

Dave Free has been in the music industry for a long time: Friendship with Kendrick Lamar and more

As a record producer, Dave has had the opportunity to work with various artists. However, he is mostly known for his friendship with Kendrick Lamar over the years. As mentioned earlier, he was a manager for Lamar a long time ago. Dave and Kendrick have known each other since they were kids.

According to Revolt, the duo are the co-owners of a company called PGLang. Kendrick Lamar once recalled his experience of working with Dave Free in an interview with The New York Times Magazine in 2022. Lamar said that they were once working on his single HiiiPower, preparing the music video for the same.

Lamar mentioned that he became impressed with Dave when the latter decided to edit the video without anyone’s help. Kendrick said that he realized at the time that Dave Free was the person with whom he would like to work and added:

“To see somebody that much devoted to artists’ crafts, where he’s willing to sit with them and edit the video himself, it lets me know what type of not only businessman, but what type of friendship and what type of dedication he has for something he believes in.”

Notably, the duo has worked together in singles like N95, Family Ties, All the Stars, and The Heart Part 5. They even contributed to the soundtrack of the MCU film, Black Panther.

Forbes magazine stated that Dave Free helped Tupac Shakur become a part of the rapping world. Dave has also created a production team called Digi-Phonics, as part of his collaboration with Tae Beast, Willie B, and Soundwave.

Also known as David Isaac Friley, he has directed some music videos with Lamar and also helmed some campaigns for companies such as Cash App. He has produced the works of artists like Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, Lance Skiiiwalker, SZA, Schoolboy Q, and more.

Dave has also won two Grammy Awards along with three MTV Video Music Awards and two BET Hip Hop Awards.