Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s rap feud turned legal drama may finally be coming to an end. A federal judge dismissed Drake’s defamation lawsuit over Lamar’s hit song, “Not Like Us,” on Oct. 9, according to a USA Today report.
The lawsuit was not directed toward Lamar. Instead, Drake filed the lawsuit against Universal Music Group, his longtime record label for more than ten years, in January, according to Drake’s court complaint. The complaint stated that UMG promoted Lamar’s song, containing defamatory lyrics about Drake, for profit. The complaint also cited that lyrics from “Not Like Us,” such as “certified pedophile” and “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A Minor,” are false accusations that have harmed Drake.
“Not Like Us” song was one of several diss tracks exchanged between Lamar and Drake during a heated rap battle in 2024. The song was widely regarded by many listeners as what made Lamar the winner of the battle and was the highest-performing track among both artists’ songs during the battle.
Lamar’s song earned five Grammys at the 67th Grammy Awards in February for “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” “Best Rap Performance,” “Best Rap Song,” and “Best Music Video.” The track has over 1.69 billion plays on Spotify, while Drake’s top-performing song in the battle, “Family Matters,” has over 169 million plays on Spotify. Additionally, Lamar’s song was featured in his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance, which has more than 148 million views on YouTube.
Although Lamar’s accusations about Drake reached a massive audience, Judge Jeanette Vargas determined that Universal Music Group did not defame Drake in their promotional actions of the music based on the context.
Vargas said even if the accusations made in the song are false, it does not necessarily give Drake a strong enough basis for a defamation suit, especially since the average listener would not interpret the lyrics as factual assertions. Exaggerated and provocative language, she noted, is a hallmark of the rap genre, and both artists engaged in similar rhetoric during their battle.
Vargas stated that, “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,” ABC News reported.
Universal Music Group expressed satisfaction with the dismissal of the case because the defamation lawsuit was harmful to artists’ creative expression. There does not appear to be any changes regarding their partnership with Drake, and they said they look forward to continuing to work with him.
While the heated musical controversy between Drake and Lamar has been tame recently, this unwanted outcome for Drake could change that. According to USA Today, there may be more to come from this case as Drake plans to appeal Vargas’s decision.