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Universal Music Group (UMG) has responded forcefully to Drake’s lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” calling it an attempt to “save face” after losing their highly publicized rap battle.
In a motion filed on Monday, UMG asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Drake’s allegations were “meritless” and motivated by embarrassment. “Plaintiff, one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated,” UMG’s legal team stated. “Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”
Drake filed the lawsuit in January, alleging that UMG defamed him by promoting Lamar’s hit track, which labeled him a “certified pedophile.” The rapper accused the label of deliberately spreading a “malicious narrative” about him, despite knowing it was false. However, UMG countered that “diss tracks are a popular and celebrated art form centered around outrageous insults” and that allowing the lawsuit to proceed would “severely chill” the genre.
The label also highlighted Drake’s own aggressive approach in the feud, pointing out that he had made incendiary claims against Lamar, including allegations of domestic abuse and questioning the paternity of Lamar’s son. “Drake has been pleased to use UMG’s platform to promote tracks leveling similarly incendiary attacks at Lamar,” UMG stated. “But now, after losing the rap battle, Drake claims that ‘Not Like Us’ is defamatory. It is not.”
UMG further argued that Lamar’s lyrics fall under free speech protections and that diss tracks, by nature, involve exaggerated and metaphorical language. The company noted that Drake had previously supported a petition against using rap lyrics as evidence in legal cases. “As Drake recognized, when it comes to rap, ‘the final work is a product of the artist’s vision and imagination,’” UMG’s filing stated. “Drake was right then and is wrong now.”
Drake’s attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, dismissed UMG’s motion as a distraction. “A greedy company is finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation that has already resulted in multiple acts of violence,” he said.
The court will decide whether to dismiss the lawsuit in the coming months. If denied, the case will move forward to discovery and potentially trial.
