Overview

• Drake filed a defamation lawsuit against UMG in January 2025, alleging the label promoted Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us,' which he claims falsely accused him of being a pedophile and endangered his safety.
• On March 17, 2025, UMG filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting that the lyrics are protected under the First Amendment as hyperbolic and nonactionable opinion.
• UMG accused Drake of hypocrisy, citing his prior support for a 2022 petition opposing the use of rap lyrics as literal evidence in legal cases, and argued that diss tracks are a long-standing, exaggerated art form in rap culture.
• Drake’s legal team countered that UMG’s motion is an attempt to avoid accountability for profiting from what they describe as dangerous misinformation that resulted in real-world harm to Drake and his family.
• The case, which underscores tensions between artistic freedom, corporate accountability, and genre conventions, remains active in the Southern District of New York.