Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against UMG Over ‘Not Like Us’

Drake is once more strolling away holding an L(oss) from a battle involving Kendrick Lamar. On Thursday (October 9), a choose dismissed the defamation lawsuit Drizzy filed towards Common Music Group (UMG) over the hit track, ‘Not Like Us.’ The federal official dominated that Kenny’s lyrics had been opinion, per the Related Press. Whereas Drake hasn’t spoken out but, others concerned in making the observe, together with Mustard, seemingly have!

RELATED: Yikes! Social Media Goes OFF After Kendrick Lamar Clowns Drake With THIS Skit At First Tour Cease (VIDEO)

Choose Explains Why She Tossed Drake’s Lawsuit Towards UMG

As beforehand reported, Drake’s and Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef exploded within the spring of 2024. The superstars traded photographs from the sales space for a number of rounds. Then, in Could, Lamar put a nail in Drizzy’s metaphorical coffin with ‘Not Like Us.’ The track grew to become a cultural phenomenon and ate the charts up—identical vitality for the music video he launched in July. Even celebrities as soon as tight with Drake, equivalent to LeBron James, picked sides. And, spoiler alert, it usually wasn’t the Canadian rapper’s!

‘Not Like Us,’ which calls out Drake by title, assaults him as “a colonizer” of rap tradition. It additionally makes critical allegations about his intercourse life, together with “I hear you want ’em younger” — a declare Drake has rejected. This week, Choose Jeannette A. Vargas acknowledged in her written opinion that ‘Not Like Us’ explicitly branded Drake as a pedophile. Nevertheless, Vargas mentioned an inexpensive listener couldn’t have concluded that the track revealed goal info about Drake.

“Though the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is definitely 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 affordable listener to imagine that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable info about Plaintiff,” Choose Vargas wrote.

An aerial photograph depicting Drake’s mansion doubles because the track’s cowl artwork. The photograph, per the choose, had “an overlay of greater than a dozen intercourse offender markers,” however Vargas mentioned it was “clearly exaggerated and doctored.”

“No affordable individual would view the Picture and imagine that, actually, regulation enforcement had designated 13 residents in Drake’s residence as intercourse offenders,” Choose Vargas wrote.

Choose Vargas additionally identified that Drizzy, too, took low blows within the rap beef. Earlier than ‘Not Like Us,’ she mentioned Drake mocked Kendrick Lamar’s peak and shoe measurement. Moreover, he questioned Lamar’s success within the April 2024 observe ‘Push Ups.’ In the meantime, Kendrick Lamar insulted Drizzy’s trend sense that very same month in ‘Euphoria.’ Choose Vargas wrote that the insults escalated from there, changing into “vicious, private.”

Contemplating the medium the rappers used to insult one another, Choose Vargas concluded that the typical listener is aware of higher. She mentioned listeners wouldn’t contemplate a diss observe “a product of a considerate or disinterested investigation, conveying to the general public fact-checked verifiable content material.”

Per AP, Vargas wrote that ‘Not Like Us’ was “replete with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language, all of that are indicia of opinion.” An inexpensive listener, she added, “would conclude that Lamar is rapping hyperbolic vituperations.”

Drake’s Staff & UMG Reacts To Lawsuit Dismissal

After the choice, Drake’s authorized workforce issued a press release: “We intend to enchantment right now’s ruling, and we stay up for the Court docket of Appeals reviewing it.”

For context, Drizzy filed the lawsuit in January. It doesn’t title Kendrick Lamar. As an alternative, the paperwork alleges Common Music Group (UMG) deliberately printed and promoted ‘Not Like Us,’ regardless of figuring out the lyrics contained false and defamatory allegations. The lawsuit claims the track tousled his fame and decreased the worth of his model. Moreover, Drake alleged that the track encourages listeners to make use of vigilante justice towards him. He even blamed ‘Not Like Us’ for tried break-ins and the capturing of a safety guard at his Toronto residence.

UMG instantly denied the allegations. Curiously, Common Music Group is the father or mother file label for each Drake and Kendrick Lamar. It launched a press release following the lawsuit dismissal.

“From the outset, this go well with was an affront to all artists and their artistic expression and by no means ought to have seen the sunshine of day,” UMG mentioned. “We’re happy with the courtroom’s dismissal and stay up for persevering with our work efficiently selling Drake’s music and investing in his profession.”

Mustard Shares THIS Publish After Dismissal

It’s no debate that ‘Not Like Us’ was one among 2024’s greatest songs. Even Choose Vargas described it as having a “catchy beat and propulsive bassline.” Outdoors of courtroom, Kendrick Lamar’s diss gained file of the 12 months and track of the 12 months on the Grammys. It additionally helped make this 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl halftime present the most-watched ever, as followers speculated whether or not Lamar would really carry out it. He did, however with altered lyrics and the acknowledgment of the UMG lawsuit!

Mustard, who produced the diss, joined Kenny on the Tremendous Bowl stage. He’s caught by the artist’s rivalry with Drake. After the dismissal information on Thursday, Mustard took to X with a put up that has followers pondering it’s a response to the authorized replace!