Universal Music Group (UMG) has officially responded to Drake‘s lawsuit involving Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” diss track, accusing Drake of “attempt[ing] to save face” in the wake of losing a rap beef to Dot.
Billboard reports that the record label filed a motion on Monday, March 17 to dismiss the lawsuit, calling Drizzy’s accusations against them “meritless” as he only filed the defamation lawsuit due to the public embarrassment he endured. “Plaintiff, one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated,” UMG’s attorneys wrote. “Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”
The label added that Drake evened out the rap beef’s playing field by writing “hyperbolic insults” and “vitriolic allegations” against Lamar in his own diss tracks, some of which were accusations involving domestic violence and the possibility of Dave Free, Lamar’s pgLang co-founder, fathering the rapper’s son with his partner Whitney Alford. UMG claimed that the lyrics of “Not Like Us” are protected as free speech under the First Amendment, and although it contained exaggerated remarks, the use of “[h]yperbolic and metaphorical language” in such tracks are common — including in Drake’s very own releases. “Diss tracks are a popular and celebrated artform centered around outrageous insults, and they would be severely chilled if Drake’s suit were permitted to proceed,” UMG continued.
UMG contended that that Dot’s lyricism can be considered as either “rhetorical hyperbole” or opinion, which could have negative connotations but cannot be proven false. As defamation only applies to false statements presented as facts, exaggerated takes and personal opinions don’t hold weight in court. The label went on to refer to how Drake publicly supported a 2022 petition that condemned the use of rap lyrics as factual evidence in criminal cases. “As Drake recognized, when it comes to rap, ‘the final work is a product of the artist’s vision and imagination’,” UMG stated. “Drake was right then and is wrong now. The complaint’s unjustified claims against UMG are no more than Drake’s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar. The court should grant UMG’s motion and dismiss the complaint with prejudice.”
“Drake has been pleased to use UMG’s platform to promote tracks leveling similarly incendiary attacks at Lamar,” UMG added. “But now, after losing the rap battle, Drake claims that ‘Not Like Us’ is defamatory. It is not.”
The Boy previously accused UMG, his own label, of defaming him by unethically boosting “Not Like Us” despite the song containing a “malicious narrative” that painted him as a pedophile.
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