Universal Music Group is pushing back against Drake’s effort to revive his lawsuit over Not Like Us, arguing that the case threatens the foundation of rap music itself.
In a new court filing, UMG asked a federal appeals court to reject Drake’s appeal after his lawsuit was dismissed last year. The company argued that Drake is trying “to strip words from their context” after losing his feud with Kendrick Lamar.
UMG’s attorneys wrote that Drake’s position could “critically undermine a highly creative art form built on exaggeration, insult, and wordplay.”
The lawsuit stems from Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” which Drake claimed was defamatory. He alleged UMG knowingly promoted the song despite believing the accusations in it were false because the track was a “gold mine.”
Drake’s legal team argued in the appeal that “millions of people understood” the song “to convey factual information,” leading many to believe “that Drake was a pedophile.”
“It is hard to imagine a statement more damaging to one’s reputation and safety than being labeled a ‘certified pedophile,’” Drake’s attorneys wrote. They argued the accusations “can spur violent retaliation.”
A judge dismissed Drake’s case in October 2025. In her ruling, Judge Jeannette Vargas described the feud as a “war of words” and said the “broader context of a heated rap battle” would not lead a reasonable listener to view the lyrics as factual.
After the ruling, UMG said the lawsuit “was an affront to all artists and their creative expression.”
The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar escalated in 2024. Kendrick took aim at Drake on the song “Like That,” leading to a series of diss tracks traded between the two rappers. Drake responded with songs including “Push Ups” and “Family Matters,” while Kendrick fired back with “Euphoria,” “Meet the Grahams,” and the chart-topping “Not Like Us.”
Drake accused Kendrick of being a woman beater, while Kendrock alluded to claims of ped*philia.