Universal Music Group strikes back against Drake again. In a new appeal, the label describes the rapper’s attempt to… failed libel suit because of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” as illogical and “outrageously hypocritical”.
In the 83-page document available to ROLLING STONE, the label accuses Canadian rapper Aubrey Drake Graham of “turning the law on its head”. The brief argues that U.S. Federal Judge Jeannette A. Vargas ruled correctly last October when she concluded that Lamar’s lyrics calling Drake a pedophile were “unactionable speech.” So these are not statements of fact.
The label says Drake clearly felt free to use UMG’s platform to attack Lamar “in equally inflammatory terms” when it suited him. But now he demands a different standard for the “words that now displease him” and that were directed against him. “[Drake] attempts to take words out of context and classify them as actionable libel when someone, somewhere could possibly take them as fact.”
Judge saw rap battle context
In her ruling dismissing Drake’s lawsuit last fall, Judge Vargas found that Lamar’s lyrics were a “direct reference to Drake’s own lyrics” in a “heated rap battle involving inflammatory language and offensive accusations from both sides.” She concluded that a reasonable listener would assume Lamar was rapping “hyperbolic invective” – not “verifiable facts.”
“The question in this case is whether ‘Not Like Us’ can be understood by a reasonable listener to mean that Drake is in fact a pedophile or has had sexual relations with minors,” Vargas wrote. “Given the overall context in which the statements in the recording were made, the court concludes: No.”
The nine-song rap battle at the center of this legal dispute made headlines starting in April 2024. Things escalated when Drake released “Family Matters” on May 3, 2024, accusing Lamar of domestic violence. He claimed that Lamar was not the father of any of his children. He responded with the consecutive drops “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us”. The latter’s hook – “certified lover boy, certified pedophile” – instantly went viral.
Drake’s own lyrics as proof
UMG explains that the court rightly emphasized that the nine songs “are in dialogue with one another”. It points out that Lamar’s line “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young” was an obvious response to Drake’s lyrics in “Taylor Made Freestyle.” In it, Drake incited Lamar to repeat rumors that Drake was dating someone underage. “Talk about him likin’ young girls,” Drake raps on the track.
“As much as Drake may dislike this context in retrospect, it is legitimate under New York law and must be taken into account,” UMG and its lawyers argue in the brief.
The label also calls it “counterintuitive” that Drake claims Lamar’s lyrics could be libelous. Rap lyrics are sometimes admitted as evidence in criminal trials. UMG counters that this context – in which a jury is supposed to make factual findings under different legal standards – is fundamentally different. The label also points out that Drake signed a petition in November 2022. This criticized prosecutors for treating artists’ creative expression as fact.
Accusation of hypocrisy
“Drake’s argument is also outrageously hypocritical,” the brief says. This cites the petition, which said, “Rap lyrics, more than any other art form, are essentially used as confessionals to criminalize black creativity and artistry.” This is “un-American and simply wrong.” The brief suggests that Drake is now taking the opposite position to serve his own interests.
In his 60-page appeal brief in January, Drake renewed his argument. Lamar’s track states as “accurate” and “unequivocal fact” that Drake is a “certified pedophile.” He alleged that UMG “relentlessly” marketed “Not Like Us” in a way that misled consumers and caused him serious harm. Lamar’s lyrics are “provably true or false” – which is why his lawsuit belongs before a jury.
Drake and his lawyers also argued that the dismissal of his lawsuit could have far-reaching negative consequences. This creates a “dangerous regime” that would protect artists and labels regardless of how extreme or damaging their allegations may be. UMG responded Friday that this argument “flagrantly understates” Judge Vargas’ ruling.
No free pass for diss tracks
“It has not been noted anywhere that there is a diss track never can be defamatory. “It simply acknowledged that the ‘average listener’ in this context and the ‘general expectation’ of statements in this format matter,” UMG’s brief states.
Drake originally sued UMG in January 2025. He accused the label of promoting Lamar’s hit in a way that was intended to convey “the specific, blatant and false factual claim that Drake is a criminal pedophile.” Notable: He only sued the label that represents him and Lamar – not Lamar himself.
UMG countered with two scathing motions to dismiss, which were ultimately successful. “Plaintiff, one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he himself provoked and in which he voluntarily participated,” UMG’s lawyers wrote. “Instead of accepting defeat like the steadfast rap artist he so often portrays himself as, he sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to lick his wounds.”
Grammy triumph and Super Bowl
“Not Like Us” won the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, becoming only the third hip-hop song to do so, following Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.” Lamar also performed the song during the widely-watched 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
Drake has until April 17 to respond to UMG’s new appeal brief.
