Universal Music Group doesn\u2019t want Drake<\/a>\u2019s lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar<\/a>\u2019s \u201cNot Like Us<\/a>\u201d to be revived by a federal appeals court. In a new brief, the company argues that the rapper, in appealing his suit\u2019s 2025 dismissal<\/a>, is attempting to \u201ccritically undermine\u201d hip-hop because he\u2019s mad he was beaten in a rap beef.<\/p>\n Drizzy\u2019s original suit claimed that Lamar\u2019s track is defamatory, and that UMG promoted the song despite knowing its claims to be false, because they thought the track was a \u201cgold mine.\u201d<\/p>\n In a new brief filed on Friday (Mar. 27), UMG said that Drake\u2019s appeal shouldn\u2019t succeed because it aims \u201cto strip words from their context.\u201d Drake, they continue, claims that the lyrics of \u201cNot Like Us\u201d are defamatory because \u201canyone, anywhere, might treat them as factual.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is not the law, and Drake\u2019s view would critically undermine a highly creative art form built on exaggeration, insult, and wordplay,\u201d UMG\u2019s attorneys wrote.<\/p>\n COMPLEX SHOP:<\/b> Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.<\/a><\/p>\n Universal\u2019s response to Drake comes a couple of months after he filed his appeal<\/a> over his lawsuit being dismissed. In the appeal, the rapper\u2019s lawyers wrote, \u201cMillions of people understood [\u2018Not Like Us\u2019] to convey factual information, causing countless individuals around the globe to believe that Drake was a pedophile.\u201d<\/p>\n To dismiss Drake\u2019s case, despite that happening, his lawyers argued that the judge would create an \u201cunprecedented\u201d and \u201cdangerous\u201d precedent: That rap track statements can never be considered to be defamatory.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is hard to imagine a statement more damaging to one\u2019s reputation and safety than being labeled a \u2018certified pedophile,\u2019 which elicits intense vitriol, and can spur violent retaliation,\u201d wrote Drake\u2019s attorneys in his appeal. \u201cThe court\u2019s rule brushes aside the risk of concrete reputational harms that can and here did spill over into violence.\u201d<\/p>\n Last October, Drake\u2019s case was dismissed by Judge Jeannette Vargas, who wrote in her ruling, \u201cThe artists\u2019 seven-track rap battle was a \u2018war of words\u2019 that was the subject of substantial media scrutiny and online discourse. 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 \u2018Not Like Us\u2019 imparts verifiable facts about plaintiff.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to Billboard<\/a> <\/em>after the dismissal, UMG said (at the time), \u201cFrom the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day. We\u2019re pleased with the court\u2019s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake\u2019s music and investing in his career.\u201d<\/p>\n Complex has reached out to Drake\u2019s legal team for a response to UMG\u2019s filing. They did not immediately respond.<\/p>\n <\/a> Drake Touts the Joys of Sipping Nestea From a Glass Bottle Amid UMG Lawsuit<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ,<\/p>\n <\/a> Ye Tells Akademiks He Believes He’ll ‘Do an Album’ With Drake ‘Before It’s All Said and Done’<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ,<\/p>\n <\/a> Soulja Boy Tells Drake to ‘Stay in Canada’<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Chappell Roan Addresses Security Backlash as Mom of 11-Year-Old Speaks Out<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Doja Cat’s Father Disputes ‘Deadbeat’ Label, Claims Daughter Is ‘Brainwashed’: ‘I Never Left My Kid’<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\nRelated News<\/h3>\n
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