Drake’s defamation lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ dismissed by judge

Drake’s lawyers have said that they will appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar’s Drake-aimed diss track ‘Not Like Us’.

On Thursday (October 9), Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that the lyrics of Lamar’s hit 2024 track, which accused Drake of being a “certified pedophile”, is not considered defamatory.

The 38-page order argued that while the long-running feud between Drake and Kendrick could be the most “infamous rap battle” in history, the seven-track dispute had also become “the subject of substantial media scrutiny and online discourse”.

Mixmag merch is here: Shop the collection 

“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 declared.

Vargas also argued that listeners wouldn’t expect “accurate factual reporting" from a diss track, ruling against Drake’s lawsuit, which was first filed in January.

In the lawsuit, Drake’s lawyers argued that the diss track “promotes a false and malicious narrative” about him, both lyrically and through the track's artwork and music video.

Drake had also previously issued a legal filing against both UMG and Spotify, claiming that the major label and streaming giant conspired to boost streams of ‘Not Like Us’. The petition was shortly dropped.

Read this next: Drake accuses UMG and Spotify of “illegally inflating” Kendrick Lamar diss track 'Not Like Us'

Vargas called the battle a “war of words”, arguing that an earlier song by Drake, titled ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’, had “challenged” Lamar to make pedophilia accusations.

The track featured AI-generated vocals mimicking Tupac, with lyrics suggesting: “Talk about him likin' young girls, that's a gift from me.”

Following the judge’s decision, a spokesperson from Drake’s legal team told Mixmag: “We intend to appeal today’s ruling, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing it.”

In a statement seen by BBC News, UMG said it is happy with the outcome of the ruling, adding that it looks forward to working with Drake, who has previously signed with the label, in the future.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter