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Drake’s “Not Like Us” Lawsuit: What the Court Ruled—and What It Didn’t

Drake’s federal lawsuit against UMG over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was dismissed in October 2025. Here’s what the judge decided—and what the ruling did not decide.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read

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Drake did not win the federal lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” On October 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas dismissed Drake’s claims against Universal Music Group (UMG), ruling that the lyrics, considered in the context of a heated rap battle, were nonactionable opinion—not statements a reasonable listener would understand as verifiable facts.

What did the judge rule in Drake’s lawsuit?

Judge Vargas granted UMG’s motion to dismiss Drake’s case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Drake, whose legal name is Aubrey Drake Graham, had sued UMG over the label’s publication and promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The defendant in this federal case was UMG, not Lamar.

The complaint asserted defamation, harassment in the second degree, and a claim under New York General Business Law § 349. The dismissal was a district-court ruling on those claims; it was not a jury verdict.

Why did the court dismiss the claims?

The court assessed how an ordinary reasonable listener would understand the recording as a whole and in context. It treated the song as part of a heated rap battle marked by insults, hyperbole, and offensive accusations from both participants—not as a literal factual report separated from the exchange around it.

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Vargas wrote in the October 9, 2025 opinion: “Although the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts about Plaintiff.”

That was the court’s legal conclusion about whether the challenged lyrics could support the claims. It was not a finding after trial that the accusation was true or false.

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Did Drake appeal?

Associated Press reported on October 9, 2025, that Drake’s legal team said it intended to appeal. That report establishes an stated intention, not whether an appeal was subsequently filed or how it was resolved.

The Second Circuit says appeals filed since 2010 are maintained in its CM/ECF system linked to PACER, and it provides a separate decisions search. Those access pages do not establish the status or outcome of this particular case. No later appellate ruling is confirmed here, so the district-court dismissal should not be described as a final appellate outcome.

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