Drake has filed a gap appellate transient in search of to overturn the ruling in his authentic lawsuit towards Universal Music Group (UMG), Rolling Stone reports. In October, a federal choose dismissed the rapper’s defamation swimsuit, which sought damages from the label for selling Kendrick Lamar’s incendiary diss observe “Not Like Us.” Pitchfork has reached out to attorneys for each UMG and Drake for remark.
Within the 60-page submitting obtained by Pitchfork, Drake’s attorneys name the unique dismissal “faulty” and once more allege that UMG “promoted ‘Not Like Us’ whereas figuring out that the track’s insinuations that he has sexual relations with minors have been false and defamatory.”
Drake filed his initial lawsuit against UMG in January 2025, claiming the music company “waged an unrelenting marketing campaign” to advertise “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar’s well-known diss track that he believed to be defamatory. UMG had requested for the grievance’s dismissal, arguing that Drake “misplaced a rap battle that he provoked and by which he willingly participated.”
Decide Jeannette A. Vargas ostensibly agreed with UMG, ruling that “the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by each contributors, wouldn’t incline the cheap listener to consider that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable info.”
