Drake is again walking away holding an L(oss) from a battle involving Kendrick Lamar. On Thursday (October 9), a judge dismissed the defamation lawsuit Drizzy filed against Universal Music Group (UMG) over the hit song, ‘Not Like Us.’ The federal official ruled that Kenny’s lyrics were opinion, per the Associated Press. While Drake hasn’t spoken out yet, others involved in making the track, including Mustard, seemingly have!
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Judge Explains Why She Tossed Drake’s Lawsuit Against UMG
As previously reported, Drake’s and Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef exploded in the spring of 2024. The superstars traded shots from the booth before Lamar put a nail in Drizzy’s metaphorical coffin with ‘Not Like Us’ in May. The song became a cultural phenomenon and ate the charts up—same energy for the music video he released in July. Even celebrities once tight with Drake, such as LeBron James, picked sides. And, spoiler alert, it often wasn’t the Canadian rapper’s!
‘Not Like Us,’ which calls out Drake by name, attacks him as “a colonizer” of rap culture. It also makes serious allegations about his sex life, including “I hear you like ’em young” — a claim Drake has rejected. This week, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas acknowledged in her written opinion that ‘Not Like Us’ explicitly branded Drake as a pedophile. However, Vargas said a reasonable listener could not have concluded that the song revealed objective facts about Drake.
“Although the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts about Plaintiff,” Judge Vargas wrote.
The mansion was depicted in an aerial photo in the song’s cover art, with what Vargas described as “an overlay of more than a dozen sex offender markers” — which, she said, was “obviously exaggerated and doctored.”
“No reasonable person would view the Image and believe that in fact law enforcement had designated thirteen residents in Drake’s home as sex offenders,” she wrote.
Recapping “perhaps the most infamous rap battle in the genre’s history,” Vargas noted that prior to “Not Like Us,” Drake mocked Lamar’s height and shoe size and questioned his success in an April 2024 track called “Push Ups,” while Lamar insulted Drake’s fashion sense that same month in “Euphoria.”
From there, Vargas wrote, the insults escalated, becoming “vicious, personal.”
The judge said she considered the forum in which the insults occurred and concluded that the average listener does not think a dis track “is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public factchecked verifiable content.”
Vargas wrote that “Not Like Us” was “replete with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language, all of which are indicia of opinion.”
A reasonable listener, she added, “would conclude that Lamar is rapping hyperbolic vituperations.”
Drake’s Team & UMG Reacts To Lawsuit Dismissal
After the decision Drake’s legal team said in a statement: “We intend to appeal today’s ruling, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing it.”
For context, Drizzy filed the lawsuit in January. It does not name Kendrick Lamar. Instead, the paperwork alleges Universal Music Group (UMG) intentionally published and promoted ‘Not Like Us,’ despite knowing the lyrics contained false and defamatory allegations. The lawsuit claims the song messed up his reputation and decreased the value of his brand. Additionally, Drake alleged that the song encourages listeners to use vigilante justice against him. He even blamed ‘Not Like Us’ for attempted break-ins and the shooting of a security guard at his Toronto home.
UMG immediately denied the allegations. Interestingly, Universal Music Group is the parent record label for both Drake and Kendrick Lamar. It released a statement following the lawsuit dismissal.
“From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day,” UMG said. “We’re pleased with the court’s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”
What To Know About ‘Not Like Us’
It’s no debate that ‘Not Like Us’ was one of 2024’s biggest songs. Even Judge Vargas described it as having a “catchy beat and propulsive bassline.”
Kendrick Lamar’s diss won record of the year and song of the year at the Grammys. It also helped make this year’s Super Bowl halftime show the most-watched ever, as fans speculated whether Lamar would actually perform it. He did, but with altered lyrics and the acknowledgment of the UMG lawsuit.
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Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister, Andrew Dalton and Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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