Recommendations of the Editorial team
Drake lost his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” with a federal judge ruling that the allegedly defamatory statements in the successful diss track should be classified as “unactionable opinions.”
In a decision released on Thursday, October 9, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas stated: “The question in this case is whether ‘Not Like Us’ can reasonably be understood to convey as fact that Drake is a pedophile or that he has had sexual relations with minors.”
“Given the overall context in which the statements in the recording were made, the court is of the opinion that this is not the case.”
Court ruling at a glance
In a statement shared with ROLLING STONE, a UMG spokesperson said, “From its inception, this lawsuit has been an affront to all artists and their creative freedom of expression and should never have seen the light of day. We are pleased with the court’s dismissal and look forward to continuing our successful work promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”
A representative for Drake did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Background of the lawsuit
Drake filed his lawsuit in January, claiming that “Not Like Us” was “designed to convey the specific, unambiguous and false statement of fact that Drake is a criminal pedophile.” What’s notable, however, is that the rapper chose to sue UMG – which also releases Drake’s music – rather than Lamar directly.
He claimed the label slandered him by using “every weapon in its arsenal” to make “Not Like Us” a hit – including allegedly spreading it with fake bot streams – because it “understood” that the “inflammatory and shocking claims were a gold mine.” UMG denied the allegations and requested that the lawsuit be dismissed.
Classification by the court
In dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Vargas compared rap diss tracks to forums like YouTube and X where people can vent, as opposed to something resembling journalistic reporting or straight news. “The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of thoughtful or unbiased investigation that provides the public with fact-checked, verifiable content,” she wrote.
She also said the defamation allegations must be viewed in the context of the specific rap battle between Drake and Kendrick, “in which both participants exchanged increasingly caustic, inflammatory insults and accusations.” Judge Vargas even cited the song Drake released before “Not Like Us,” “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which featured an AI-generated Tupac voice meant to provoke Lamar into talking about Drake “liking young girls.”
Context of the diss tracks
While Drake attempted to argue that “Not Like Us” should be viewed as a single work, Judge Vargas rejected that approach, saying it “must be placed in its appropriate factual context.” She wrote that Lamar’s lines – such as: “Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young” – “need to be evaluated” in relation to “Taylor Made Freestyle,” noting: “The similarity in phrasing strongly suggests that this line is a direct reference back to Drake’s lyrics in previous song is.”
The judge also addressed Drake’s claims that UMG tried to artificially inflate the popularity of “Not Like Us” through fake streams and found those allegations to be insufficient as well. She said Drake’s evidence consisted largely of “tweets from individual users and reports from fans” and called his “reliance on online comments and reporting insufficient to meet the reasonableness standard.”