UMG Opposes Drake's Appeal in Lamar Track Defamation Suit

Universal Music Group has sharply rebuked Canadian rapper Drake's appeal to revive his defamation lawsuit against the label over Kendrick Lamar's 2024 diss track "Not Like Us," arguing in a recent appellate filing that the case misinterprets both legal standards and the nature of hip-hop.

Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, originally filed the suit in January 2025 in a New York federal court, accusing UMG of promoting Lamar's song in a manner that falsely portrayed him as a pedophile. The track, released in May 2024, includes lyrics such as "certified pedophile," which Drake claimed caused reputational harm. UMG, which distributes music for both artists through its subsidiaries Republic Records and Interscope, moved to dismiss the complaint. In October 2024, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas granted the dismissal, ruling that the lyrics constituted protected opinion rather than verifiable facts, given their context in what she described as one of hip-hop's most intense rivalries.

Drake appealed the decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2025, contending in a 117-page brief that the song's widespread promotion, including at events like the 2025 Super...