Drake Lawsuit Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Dismissed by Judge

A national justice connected Thursday (Oct. 9) dismissed Drake’s defamation suit against Universal Music Group implicit Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” ruling that a “war of words” during a “heated rap battle” did not interruption the law.

Drake’s case, filed earlier this year, claimed that UMG defamed him by releasing Lamar’s scathing diss track, which tarred his arch-rival arsenic a “certified pedophile.” He believed that millions of radical took that lyric literally, severely harming his reputation.

But conscionable 10 months later, Judge Jeannette Vargas granted UMG’s question to disregard the lawsuit astatine the outset – ruling that Kendrick’s insulting lyrics were the benignant of “hyperbole” that cannot beryllium defamatory due to the fact that listeners would not deliberation they were statements of fact.

“The artists’ seven-track rap conflict was a ‘war of words’ that was the taxable of important media scrutiny and online discourse,” the justice wrote. “Although the accusation that plaintiff is simply a pedophile is surely a superior one, the broader discourse of a heated rap battle, with incendiary connection and violative accusations hurled by some participants, would not incline the tenable listener to judge that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts astir plaintiff.”

The ruling marks an abrupt extremity to a ineligible conflict that stunned the euphony industry. Few expected a rapper to respond to a diss way with a suit – a determination that drew ridicule successful the hep hop satellite and condemnation from ineligible scholars. Fewer inactive expected him to record it against UMG, his longtime grounds statement and the biggest euphony institution successful the world.

Drake’s attorneys tin entreaty the ruling to a national appeals court. His attorneys did not instantly instrumentality a petition for comment. A spokesperson for UMG besides did not instantly instrumentality a petition for comment.

Lamar released “Not Like Us” past May amid a war-of-words with Drake that saw the 2 UMG stars merchandise a bid of bruising diss tracks. The song, a knockout punch that blasted Drake arsenic a “certified pedophile” implicit an infectious beat, became a chart-topping deed successful its ain close and won 5 Grammy Awards, including grounds and opus of the year.

In January, Drake took the antithetic measurement of taking UMG to court, claiming his ain statement had defamed him by boosting the track’s popularity, including done the usage of bots and different nefarious selling tactics. The lawsuit, which didn’t sanction Lamar himself arsenic a defendant, alleges that UMG “waged a campaign” against its ain creator to dispersed a “malicious narrative” astir pedophilia that it knew to beryllium false.

UMG argued those allegations were intelligibly meritless – that “hyperbolic insults” and “vitriolic allegations” are par for the people successful diss tracks and cannot signifier the ground for a libel lawsuit. The institution pointedly noted that Drake himself was blessed to marque specified attacks, including accusing Lamar of home abuse, until helium mislaid the battle.

The quality got adjacent nastier successful February, erstwhile Lamar made “Not Like Us” the centerpiece of his Super Bowl halftime show. After speculation astir whether he’d play the way astatine all, Kendrick utilized the amusement to mock his rival, looking straight into camera arsenic helium rapped “Say, Drake, I perceive you similar ’em young.”

This is simply a processing quality communicative and volition beryllium updated with much details arsenic they go available.