🔗 Share this article

A judge has rejected Drake's legal claim targeting the music corporation over Kendrick Lamar's track Not Like Us.

Judge Jeannette Vargas decided that the rapper’s lyrics, which claimed Drake and his associates of being "pedophiles", were "nonactionable opinion" and could not be deemed libelous.

The Canadian rapper filed the legal action in January, claiming UMG, the music company behind both artists, of defamatory conduct by allowing the song to be released and promoted, saying it disseminated a "false and malicious narrative".

Drake's spokesperson stated he intended to challenge the decision. Universal Music Group said it was satisfied with the result and was eager to continuing its work with the musician.

Background of the Hip-Hop Feud

Not Like Us, which was initially released in May 2024, was broadly viewed as the final strike in an ongoing battle between the competing artists.

It has become the most successful track of the rapper’s musical journey, having received multiple Grammy awards and being one of the most-discussed moments of his Super Bowl half-time show in February.

In a detailed ruling, Judge Vargas called the row between the rappers "the most infamous rap battle in the history of rap music".

"The artists' seven-track rap battle was a 'war of words' that was the focus of extensive press coverage and online discourse," the judge noted.

"Although the claim that Drake is a child predator is undoubtedly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and insulting claims exchanged by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that 'Not Like Us' conveys truthful statements about plaintiff."

She additionally observed that, in an earlier song, the artist had "challenged his rival to make the paedophilia accusations" that featured in Not Like Us.

On the track his own release, the rapper used the synthetic vocals of the late rapper to give Lamar advice on how to prevail in the feud.

"Talk about him likin' young girls, that's a gift from me," the song proposed.

"It is in this context in which such lyrics as 'Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young' must be evaluated," stated Judge Vargas.

"The parallel in the phrasing strongly indicates that this lyric is a clear reference to Drake's lyrics in the prior song."

'An Affront to Artists'

Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, did not sue his rival in the legal filing.

His legal team alleged the label of initiating "an effort to generate a popular song" out of a track that made the "false factual allegation that Drake is a convicted predator, and to suggest that the audience should turn to extra-legal action in response".

Ruling against Drake, the judge said fans would not expect "accurate factual reporting" from a diss track "replete with profanity, insults, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language."

She highlighted that the rapper himself had engaged in comparable rhetoric, quoting a lyric in which the artist "strongly" implied that "his opponent is a domestic abuser", and a separate instance where Drake "claims that he 'heard' that one of his rival’s sons may not be biologically his."

Concerning Lamar's song, the court said: "Although apparent statements of fact may assume the character of statements of opinion... when made in open discourse, intense arguments, or similar situations in which an listener may anticipate the use of epithets, passionate language or hyperbole."

Responding to the rejection, a UMG spokesperson said: "From the outset, this lawsuit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and should not have been filed."

"We're pleased with the court's dismissal and are eager to continuing our partnership successfully promoting Drake's music and supporting his artistic path," the spokesperson continued.

A spokesperson for the musician said the rapper planned to contest the decision, "and we await the Court of Appeals reviewing it".

Lamar has yet to comment on the legal matter.