Judge Dismisses Drake Defamation Case Against Universal Music Group

A federal court has granted UMG’s motion to dismiss Drake’s defamation suit stemming from Kendrick Lamar’s viral diss track “Not Like Us,” concluding one of the most publicized legal and cultural incidents of 2023 in the rap world.

The Lawsuit and the Feud

The rapper, real name Aubrey Drake Graham, filed the defamation suit this January in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He claimed that UMG had promoted the track even though it knew the content of the lyrics included accusations against him that he was a pedophile. Although Lamar personally was not made a defendant, the suit centered on the label’s complicity in distribution and amplification of the hit. He also alleged that UMG artificially inflated the streaming numbers on Spotify for the song through means of bots and paid placements.

UMG retaliated with a motion to dismiss the suit, alleging that the matter was more of a function of an effort on Drake’s part to recover from a bruising rap battle loss than it was a matter of defamation. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas sided with the label, writing that the statements made in “Not Like Us” were “nonactionable opinion” which could not reasonably be considered expressions of fact.

The Court’s Ruling

In her ruling, Judge Vargas stated that the court found no evidence which indicated UMG had acted in any way to create either informal or formal deceptive promotional or streaming practices. The claims were termed speculative and dependent on dubious social media comments, rather than any verifiable facts.

The judge also stated that Drake had not shown anything to prove any causal connection between the incidents which followed the release of the song and the release of the song itself had in any way been affected, such as a shooting outside of Drake’s house in Toronto, in which shot was fired that injured one of his security guards. The singer’s statement indicated that the acts of UMG had made him a definite target. To this, however, the court found inadequate claims in evidence.

Drake emphasized in his complaint to the court that the case was “not about” Lamar, but with “a music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize allegations it knew to be not only false but dangerous.”

Aftermath and Industry Reaction

UMG hailed the court’s decision as a victory for the artistic process. A spokesman for the record company stated that the label was “pleased” with the court’s disqualification of the case, and again stated its readiness and continuing commitment to assist in the development of Drake’s career. “From the outset this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and gratification and should never have seen the light of day,” the statement concluded.

There has been no public comment from Lamar’s or Drake’s camps. The ruling terminates effectively a feud that had dominated the headlines throughout 2024 and 2025, as Lamar’s “Not Like Us” came to be not only a number one hit throughout the world, but powered his Grammy sweep and also was a major featured piece in his Super Bowl halftime performance.

The case now leaves behind a strange legal precedent in music defamation, which will act as a reinforcement that lyrical attacks, however vicious, are covered by artistic expressions rather than facts.