Drake Wants to Revive Defamation Lawsuit Against UMG

Drake has officially filed his formal notice of appeal in Manhattan federal court, launching his effort to revive the defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning diss track "Not Like Us".

The appeal, submitted on Wednesday (as per Rolling Stone), follows through on the Canadian rapper's immediate promise to challenge the court's dismissal of his case earlier this month.

Federal Judge Jeannette A. Vargas dismissed Drake's lawsuit on October 9th, ruling that Lamar's lyrics referring to Drake as a "certified pedophile" constituted "non-actionable opinion" rather than defamatory statements of fact. The judge's decision prompted Drake to seek recourse through the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where he hopes to overturn the dismissal.

"This confirms our intent to appeal, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing that filing in the coming weeks," a spokesperson for Drake stated. The appeal centres on whether "Not Like Us" can reasonably be understood to convey factual allegations about Drake's character, specifically claims regarding inappropriate conduct with minors.

Judge Vargas had emphasised the contextual nature of the dispute in her original ruling, noting that the defamation claims required examination within the framework of Drake's and Lamar's extended rap battle. "The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content," she wrote in her opinion.

The lawsuit, originally filed in January, saw Drake claim that "Not Like Us" was "intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile." Notably, Drake chose not to sue Lamar directly, instead targeting their shared label UMG, alleging the company knew the statements were false when distributing the track.

Drake's legal team also accused UMG of covertly collaborating with Spotify to artificially boost "Not Like Us" popularity, claims which UMG vehemently denied in their motion to dismiss. The music giant expressed satisfaction with the court's dismissal, calling the lawsuit "an affront to all artists and their creative expression" that "never should have seen the light of day".

Judge Vargas's ruling specifically referenced the broader context of the rap battle, including Drake's "Taylor Made Freestyle", which featured an AI-generated Tupac voice goading Lamar into addressing Drake "liking young girls." The judge noted the similarity in wording between Drake's track and Lamar's subsequent response, suggesting Lamar's lines were "a direct callback to Drake's lyrics in the prior song."

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals will now review Drake's challenge to Judge Vargas's decision in the coming weeks.