Drake has filed an appeal in response to the dismissal of his lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG). His legal team submitted a Notice of Appeal in a New York court.

The high-profile dispute with his record label was dismissed on October 9 by District Judge Jeannette Vargas. In her ruling, the judge highlighted the need to consider the rap battle’s context to interpret Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” accurately.

Judge Vargas stated that “the average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content.”

Drake’s initial lawsuit accused UMG of defamation regarding the release and promotion of Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” He claimed the label prioritized “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists” by permitting the track’s release, despite allegedly being aware that the “inflammatory and false allegations” within the song were baseless.