Universal Music Group stands firm in rejecting Drake‘s attempt to revive his defamation lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s track “Not Like Us,” which insinuates the Canadian rapper is a pedophile.
The high-profile case highlights the intense dynamic between lyrical freedom and reputational damage within hip-hop.
Universal argues that allowing Drake’s lawsuit to proceed would threaten the essence of hip-hop as an art form — a culture rooted in exaggeration, biting insults, and creative wordplay.
They assert that Kendrick’s controversial lyric labeling Drake a “certified pedophile” falls squarely within this tradition, dismissing it as artistic hyperbole rather than factual accusation.
Drake originally filed the defamation suit against Universal but notably excluded Kendrick Lamar from legal responsibility. According to the rapper’s claims, Universal’s release of the diss track allegedly led millions to truly believe the accusation.
However, in October 2025, a judge dismissed the case, ruling that Kendrick’s lyrics constituted “nonactionable opinion,” not statements of fact. Universal’s latest filing builds on this judgment, further challenging the merits of Drake’s appeal.
In its response, Universal clarifies that Kendrick’s inflammatory remark came as retaliation against previous claims by Drake — that Lamar was abusive toward his wife and not the biological father of one of his children.
They also emphasize that Drake’s attempt to isolate and reinterpret these lyrics defies the broader cultural and legal context surrounding diss tracks in hip-hop.
“‘Not Like Us’ falls within a genre typified by inflammatory putdowns, epithets, fiery rhetoric, vulgarity and hyperbole,” UMG’s attorneys reportedly wrote in the documents. “Drake’s attempt to rip the words he now dislikes from their immediate and broader context has no support in governing law.”
The case now moves to an appeals court, with arguments slated to begin in the coming months and a decision expected sometime next year. This legal dispute serves as a reminder of the ongoing debate over creative expression versus reputational harm in music’s most confrontational genre.
