The 2024 Drake-Kendrick rap battle produced seven tracks. Lamar's Not Like Us became a phenomenon - 1.8 billion streams, five Grammys, Super Bowl halftime. It called Drake a certified pedophile.
Drake sued UMG in January 2025 for defamation. In October 2025, Judge Vargas dismissed the case, ruling the lyrics were nonactionable opinion in the context of a heated rap battle.
Drake appealed in January 2026 with a 117-page brief. UMG responded March 30 with an 83-page brief calling Drake astoundingly hypocritical. Drake's reply brief was filed April 17, 2026 by Willkie Farr & Gallagher, arguing Judge Vargas committed "reversible error" by relying on matters outside the pleadings and citing Lamar's Super Bowl performance as a "republication far outside the original rap battle." Briefing is now complete; the case awaits oral argument scheduling at the 2nd Circuit.
- 01Drake argues millions heard the song outside of rap battle context - at the Super Bowl, Grammys - and believed the pedophile claim as fact.
- 02UMG says the appeal would critically undermine a creative art form built on exaggeration, insult, and wordplay.
- 03UMG highlights Drake signed a 2022 petition criticizing use of rap lyrics as evidence - calling his position a total reversal.
- 04Drake withdrew claims about UMG using bots to inflate streams after sanctions were threatened.
This case will define the legal boundaries of artistic expression in hip-hop. If upheld, rap battles get broad legal protection. If Drake wins, artists could sue rivals and labels over diss track content - fundamentally changing the genre.