Universal Music Group has filed a motion to dismiss rapper Drake’s amended defamation lawsuit against the music corporation over its release and promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us.”
UMG’s motion, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, contends that the defamation claims are “no more than Drake’s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar.” The motion notes that Drake lost a rap battle against Lamar last year that he “provoked and in which he willingly participated,” and subsequently sued UMG, both his and Lamar’s record label, in a “meritless attempt to salve his wounds.”
In April, Drake and his legal team amended his original complaint against UMG to include Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, in which Lamar notably chose not to include a “Not Like Us” lyric in which he calls Drake a “certified pedophile.” The performance still included similarly suggestive lines like, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young,” but Drake’s legal team says that Lamar’s conscious decision to censor the word “pedophile” from his performance is proof that the song’s lyrics qualify as defamatory.
UMG’s dismissal motion disputes that argument. “The focus of Drake’s new claims—that ‘the largest audience for a Super Bowl halftime show ever’ did not hear Lamar call Drake or his crew pedophiles—betrays this case for what it is: Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar’s lyrics,” the motion reads.
Drake first sued UMG in January, claiming in his original suit that the music corporation knowingly released, promoted and monetized a song containing allegations that were both false and dangerous. In February, Lamar’s “Not Like Us” swept the 67th Grammys, taking home the show’s Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video awards.
UMG’s motion argues that Drake’s suit ignores the greater context of his and Lamar’s rap battle, as well as the defining traits of the diss track genre, which often features songs with “hyperbolic insults.” UMG’s motion also notes that Drake made scandalous claims about Lamar in the diss tracks he released against the rapper last year, including lyrics accusing Lamar of domestic abuse.
“Drake was pleased to use UMG’s platform to promote tracks leveling similarly incendiary attacks at Lamar,” the motion contends. “But now, after losing the rap battle, Drake claims that ‘Not Like Us’ is defamatory. It is not.” The motion additionally argues that “diss tracks are a popular and celebrated artform centered around outrageous insults, and they would be chilled if Drake’s suit were permitted to proceed.”
Labeling Drake’s amended allegations “astonishing,” UMG’s motion insists that the rapper’s suit is “without merit and should be dismissed with prejudice.”
