<\/p>\n
\n\tThe headline-making rap beef <\/a>between Kendrick Lamar<\/a> and Drake<\/a> last summer spilled over into the legal world when the latter filed a lawsuit <\/a>against his own record label, Universal Music Group<\/a>. The \u201cHotline Bling\u201d rapper accused the company of defamation over its distribution and promotion of K. Dot\u2019s \u201cNot Like Us,\u201d and after a lengthy journey of motions and disputes, a judge has decided to officially throw the case out<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe recording was published as part of a heated public feud, in which both participants exchanged progressively caustic, inflammatory insults and accusations,\u201d U.S. District Judge Jeannette Varga explained in a filing yesterday (Oct. 9). \u201cRepublication cannot transform Lamar\u2019s statement of opinion into UMG\u2019s statement of fact\u2026 That\u00a0the Recording<\/a>\u00a0can only reasonably be understood as opinion is reinforced by the language employed in the song.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cA reasonable listener could not have concluded that \u2018Not Like Us\u2019 was conveying objective facts about Drake,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n \n