UMG Blasts Drake Appeal in Lawsuit Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’: ‘That Is Not the Law’

Universal Music Group (UMG) is firing back at Drake ’s appeal seeking to revive his lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar ’s “Not Like Us,” arguing the superstar is trying to “critically undermine” the art of hip-hop because he’s upset he lost a rap beef. Drake’s case accused UMG of defaming him by releasing Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track, which blasted the rival rapper as a “certified pedophile.” But a judge dismissed it in October by ruling fans wouldn’t think insults in a rap battle were statements of fact.

Last month, the superstar appealed that ruling in an effort to overturn it. But in its brief on Friday, UMG said that appeal was a non-starter because it aimed to “strip words from their context.” “That is not the law, and Drake’s view would critically undermine a highly creative art form built on exaggeration, insult, and wordplay,” UMG’s attorneys write.

Lamar released “Not Like Us” in May 2024 as the knock-out punch in a series of bruising diss tracks between the two stars. The song was not only seen as a final rhetorical victory,...