Judge throws out Drake’s lawsuit against UMG regarding Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ diss song

Less than a year after the Toronto superstar initiated his remarkable lawsuit, a federal judge stated that no one genuinely believed Kendrick was labeling him a pedophile.

Judge dismisses Drizzy's defamation lawsuit against Universal Music concerning rap feud with Kendrick Lamar

Drake filed a lawsuit against his record label earlier this year, accusing them of defamation for releasing Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track.

On Thursday (Oct. 9), a federal judge dismissed Drake’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group regarding Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The judge ruled that a "war of words" in a "heated rap battle" did not constitute a breach of the law and described parts of the case as "logically incoherent."

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas dismissed the case on Thursday, determining that Lamar's diss track expresses opinions that cannot be deemed defamatory. “A reasonable listener could not have concluded that ‘Not Like Us’ was conveying objective facts about Drake,” the Judge wrote.

Kendrick Lamar (Interscope Records) and Drake (Republic Records) are affiliated with two separate labels within the UMG system. Their rap battle escalated to a legal dispute earlier this year when the Toronto rapper alleged that UMG, responsible for distributing “Not Like Us,” disseminated defamatory claims accusing him of being a pedophile by secretly making payments and offering reduced licensing rates to third parties to promote the song. This was allegedly done with the intention of devaluing his music and brand during contract negotiations.

A spokesperson for Universal Music Group stated in a statement, “From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day.”

The feud began with Drake's "First Person Shooter," where he and J. Cole declared themselves part of the "big three" with Lamar. In reply, the Compton rapper dismissed the notion that they are his peers in "Like That." This sparked a series of diss tracks, with the artists exchanging increasingly malicious insults involving allegations of domestic abuse, exploitation, and pedophilia. The feud reached its peak when Lamar dropped the anthemic West Coast hit in May, prompting observers to declare him the victor of the clash.

The central issue of the case was whether “Not Like Us” can be interpreted as making factual claims that Drake is a pedophile and has engaged in sexual activities with minors.

The essence of the ruling: Context is important. The court emphasized that the song was released during a rap battle.

“The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content,” Vargas wrote.

The court noted that the song's tone supports the notion that it shouldn't be taken as fact. “Not Like Us” contains a lot of profanity, trash-talking, and exaggerated language, "all of which are markers of opinion," the order stated.

In the lawsuit, Drake highlighted the lyrics, “Rabbit hole is still deep, I can go further, I promise,” implying that Lamar possesses solid evidence to support his pedophilia claims. The court did not concur.

“It is not at all clear that this is a natural reading of this lyric,” Vargas wrote. “Even if this line was susceptible to such an interpretation standing alone, however, no reasonable listener could understand it in this way, given the overall context.”

A spokesperson for UMG stated that the label “look[s] forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”

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