Court Throws Out Drake's Legal Case Over Kendrick Lamar’s Hit Diss Track

A judge has rejected Drake's legal claim targeting Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar's track Not Like Us.

Presiding Judge Jeannette Vargas decided that Lamar's lyrics, which claimed Drake and his associates of being "pedophiles", were "protected opinion" and could not be deemed libelous.

The Canadian rapper filed the legal action in early this year, claiming Universal Music Group, the record label behind the two rappers, of defamatory conduct by permitting the track to be published and promoted, saying it disseminated a "false and malicious narrative".

Drake's representative stated he intended to appeal the decision. Universal Music Group said it was satisfied with the result and was looking forward to resuming its work with the rapper.

Context of the Rap Battle

The diss song, which was first dropped in May 2024, was broadly viewed as the decisive blow in an ongoing battle between the rival rappers.

It has emerged as the biggest hit of the rapper’s career, having won five Grammys and being one of the most-discussed moments of his Super Bowl half-time show in early 2025.

In a 38-page order, the judge called the row between the rappers "the most notorious hip-hop feud in the history of rap music".

"The artists' seven-track rap battle was a 'war of words' that was the focus of extensive press coverage and digital debate," the court wrote.

"While the claim that Drake is a pedophile is undoubtedly a serious one, the broader context of a intense musical rivalry, with provocative remarks and insulting claims exchanged by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that 'Not Like Us' conveys truthful statements about the claimant."

She additionally observed that, in an earlier song, Drake had "challenged his rival to make the pedophile claims" that appeared in the diss record.

On the track his own release, the rapper used the AI-generated voice of Tupac Shakur to suggest strategies on how to win the rap battle.

"Talk about him likin' young girls, that's a gift from me," the song proposed.

"It is in this context in which such lines as 'Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young' must be assessed," wrote the court.

"The similarity in the wording suggests strongly that this line is a direct callback to the artist’s own words in the prior song."

'A Slap in the Face to Creatives'

Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, did not sue Lamar in the legal filing.

His legal team accused UMG of initiating "a campaign to create a popular song" out of a release that made the "false factual allegation that the artist is a criminal paedophile, and to imply that the public should resort to extra-legal action in response".

Ruling against the plaintiff, Judge Vargas said listeners would not expect "truthful accounts" from a musical attack "filled with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language."

She highlighted that Drake himself had engaged in similar language, quoting a lyric in which the artist "heavily" implied that "his opponent is a spouse beater", and another where Drake "claims that he 'heard' that one of Lamar's sons may not be his biological offspring."

Regarding Lamar's song, the court said: "Although apparent statements of fact may assume the character of subjective views... when made in open discourse, intense arguments, or similar situations in which an audience may expect the use of epithets, passionate language or exaggeration."

Responding to the dismissal, a UMG spokesperson said: "From the outset, this lawsuit was an affront to all artists and their artistic freedom and should not have seen the light of day."

"We're pleased with the court's dismissal and are eager to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake's music and investing in his artistic path," the spokesperson added.

A spokesperson for Drake said the rapper intended to contest the ruling, "and we look forward to the appellate court examining it".

Lamar has yet to comment on the legal matter.