Common Music Group has issued an announcement following their large win in opposition to Drake within the courtroom, and Champagne Papi has launched one as nicely.
“An inexpensive listener couldn’t have concluded that ‘Not Like Us’ was conveying goal details about Drake,” she dominated.
In an announcement to Billboard following their win, a spokesman for UMG mentioned: “From the outset, this go well with was an affront to all artists and their inventive expression and by no means ought to have seen the sunshine of day. We’re happy with the court docket’s dismissal and look ahead to persevering with our work efficiently selling Drake’s music and investing in his profession.”
Whereas the corporate appears excited to place this complete ordeal behind them, Drake’s crew additionally launched an announcement to BOSSIP, insisting this isn’t over.
“We intend to enchantment at the moment’s ruling, and we look ahead to the Courtroom of Appeals reviewing it.”
As beforehand reported, the Canadian rapper’s authorized battle grew to embody greater than UMG’s alleged defamation.
Most not too long ago, his crew demanded inside paperwork tied to allegations of home violence in opposition to Lamar and probing the character of Dave Free’s relationship with Lamar’s kids.
In these filings, Drake’s legal professionals sought “All Paperwork and Communications … regarding allegations of home violence … dedicated by Kendrick Lamar.” In addition they requested supplies on “David Isaac Friley (a/ok/a Dave Free) and his relationship with Kendrick Lamar and Kendrick Lamar’s kids.”
The requests mirrored lyrics from Lamar’s The Coronary heart Half 6, during which Drake floated recommendations that one in every of Lamar’s kids may not be biologically his, however fathered by Dave Free as an alternative.
Drake additionally accused UMG of orchestrating a “monetary conspiracy” by selling Lamar’s music on the expense of his model, making secret funds, and decreasing licensing provides to 3rd events to suppress Drake’s worth throughout contract talks. His crew additionally demanded UMG produce redacted variations of Lamar’s file contract (claiming it was unfairly censored), and documentation involving prior label censorship (citing Pusha T’s “Story of Adidon”) as precedent.
The Degrassi alum initially filed his lawsuit in opposition to UMG in January 2025, accusing the music large of knowingly defaming him. His criticism centered on Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss monitor, “Not Like Us,” which famously referred to Drake as a “youngster predator.” Drake alleged that UMG not solely distributed this track but additionally promoted it by way of “unlawful means.”
UMG, for its half, vehemently denied the claims, asserting that the notion they’d “search to hurt the repute of any artist —not to mention Drake—is illogical.”
“Plaintiff, probably the most profitable recording artists of all time, misplaced a rap battle that he provoked and during which he willingly participated,” UMG’s legal professionals wrote in a submitting asking for a dismissal. “As an alternative of accepting the loss just like the unbothered rap artist he usually claims to be, he has sued his personal file label in a misguided try to salve his wounds.”
The defamation go well with got here after Drake alleged in November 2024 that UMG and Spotify deployed bots to “artificially inflate” the success of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” violating the RICO Act.
