Drake lawsuit against his own record company over Kendrick Lamar diss track dismissed by judge

Drake’s long-running feud with Kendrick Lamar has taken yet another dramatic twist, and this time, it’s played out in the courtroom.

What started as one of hip-hop’s biggest lyrical battles has now ended in legal defeat for the Canadian rapper, whose lawsuit against his own record label, Universal Music Group (UMG), has officially been thrown out by a U.S. federal judge.

The beef first reignited back in 2024 when Kendrick dropped his blistering diss track Not Like Us just weeks after Drake’s Push Ups. While Drake’s track did respectable numbers, Lamar’s scorched-earth anthem blew past a billion streams, becoming one of the most talked-about moments in rap history.

But beyond the streaming war, Not Like Us made waves for something more serious — with lyrics that branded Drake a ‘certified pedophile’ and a ‘predator’. The rapper didn’t take that lightly.

Drake sued his own record label over Kendrick Lamar’s viral diss track (Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA)

According to court filings, Drake accused UMG, which also distributes Lamar’s music, of defamation for allegedly having ‘designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit’. His lawyers claimed the label was ‘using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues’.

Drake’s legal team argued that UMG could have stepped in to censor or delay the release of the track, writing: “UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed.” Instead, they claimed, the label ‘chose to do the opposite’.

In response, UMG denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations ‘offensive and untrue’.

The company stated: “We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Now, months later, District Judge Jeannette Vargas has sided with UMG, dismissing the case entirely. In her ruling, Vargas called Lamar’s lyrics ‘nonactionable opinion’ — protected under free speech laws, and said that no reasonable listener would take the song’s accusations as literal truth.

Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us became the defining track of their feud (Christopher Polk/Billboard/Getty Images)

She wrote: “The fact that the recording was made in the midst of a rap battle is essential.

“Even apparent statements of fact may assume the character of statements of opinion… when made in public debate, heated labor dispute, or other circumstances in which an audience may anticipate the use of epithets, fiery rhetoric or hyperbole.”

A UMG spokesperson told Variety that the suit ‘never should have seen the light of day’, adding that they were ‘pleased with the court’s dismissal’. Drake’s representatives, however, aren’t done yet — confirming that he intends to appeal the ruling.

Whether or not that appeal goes anywhere, the Drake vs. Kendrick saga doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.