Drake thinks the decrease court docket has created an “unprecedented” rule that rap diss tracks can by no means be actionable with their dismissal of his lawsuit.
The Canadian rapper has formally moved to attraction the dismissal of his lawsuit towards Universal Music Group (UMG) tied to Kendrick Lamar’s diss observe “Not Like Us.”
He initially sued UMG final yr, alleging the corporate defamed him by distributing Lamar’s viral diss observe, which branded him a “licensed pedophile.” However, a federal decide dominated in October that listeners wouldn’t interpret jabs exchanged in a rap feud as literal, factual claims.
In his long-anticipated attraction filed Wednesday, Drake’s authorized staff argues the alternative is true: That audiences completely took the lyrics at face worth: “Millions of individuals understood [Not Like Us] to convey factual info, inflicting numerous people across the globe to imagine that Drake was a pedophile.”
According to the rapper’s attorneys, dismissing the case regardless of that public response amounted to the court docket establishing an “unprecedented” and “harmful” authorized doctrine, one that implies statements in rap songs can by no means be defamatory.
“It is tough to think about an announcement extra damaging to at least one’s fame and security than being labeled a ‘licensed pedophile,’ which elicits intense vitriol, and may spur violent retaliation,” Drake’s lawyer Michael J. Gottlieb writes within the attraction, obtained by Billboard. “The court docket’s rule brushes apart the danger of concrete reputational harms that may and right here, did spill over into violence.”
This attraction serves as the newest flip in a authorized saga that caught a lot of the music world off guard. Very few anticipated {that a} rap beef would escalate right into a lawsuit, resulting in some corners of hip-hop tradition taunting Drake for taking it there.
Lamar dropped “Not Like Us” in May 2024 as the ultimate blow in a fierce back-and-forth between the 2 artists. Beyond being considered as Lamar’s lyrical knockout, the tune additionally dominated the charts. It went on to win five Grammy Awards, together with report and tune of the yr, and have become a centerpiece of Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime efficiency.
By January, Drake answered not with one other observe, however with authorized motion, claiming UMG had defamed him by aggressively amplifying the tune’s attain, allegedly by way of bots and different questionable promotional techniques. While Lamar himself was not named within the go well with, Drake accused UMG of getting “waged a marketing campaign” towards its personal star to unfold a “malicious narrative.”
That case was thrown out in October by Judge Jeannette Vargas, who decided that Lamar’s lyrics amounted to “hyperbolic” opinion reasonably than actionable defamation, since an inexpensive listener wouldn’t view them as “sober” factual claims able to being confirmed true or false.
“Although the accusation that plaintiff is a pedophile is actually a critical one, 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 imagine that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable info about plaintiff.”
In the newly filed attraction, Drake’s attorneys sharply criticize that call, calling it “indefensible” and arguing it ignored proof that followers perceived the tune as a “factual indictment of Drake.” They say the ruling as a substitute created a “harmful” new rule shielding rappers from defamation lawsuits altogether.
“If rap diss tracks can’t comprise statements of reality, then they’re inoculated from any legal responsibility for defamation regardless of how direct and damaging the defamatory statements they comprise,” his attorneys say. “This case illustrates that.”
UMG’s attorneys are anticipated to submit a response within the coming weeks. An organization spokesperson declined to remark Thursday.
When UMG does reply, it’s going to probably keep that Judge Vargas merely adopted established rules surrounding defamation and free expression — rules that authorized specialists informed Billboard typically defend inventive works like music, whereas nonetheless permitting penalties for outright falsehoods. The label can also be anticipated to reference authorized students who warned the case might have a “chilling impact” on hip-hop and encourage prosecutors to proceed utilizing rap lyrics as felony proof.
Drake’s authorized staff addressed that challenge head-on in Wednesday’s submitting, stating that “rap lyrics are usually used as proof in felony case” to bolster their argument that listeners might have fairly taken Lamar’s lyrics severely.
“If rap lyrics may be understood to comprise statements of reality within the felony context, then it should comply with that cheap listeners might perceive them equally for functions of defamation,” Drake’s attorneys write.
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