Canadian rapper drake has lost his lawsuit against Universal, a record company that distributes his work and which he denounced for advertising “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar.
He beef between the Canadian Drake and the American Kendrick Lamar has been one of the best-known dialectical wars in recent years as they are two of the biggest names of the current moment in the world of rap. There were several songs in which both musicians and rappers faced each other in a fierce and stark way through their rhymes. This led Drake to sue Universal – curiously, the same label that internationally distributes and advertises his material, which originally belongs to OVO, his own record label – for having advertised the song “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar.
In yet another turn of the hip-hop soap opera of the year, federal judge Jeannette A. Vargas dismissed last Thursday (October 9) the lawsuit that Drake had filed against Universal Music Group (UMG), for his alleged role in promoting the explosive diss track by Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us.” Drake alleged that the song not only defamed his image, but had even led to attempted break-ins at his Toronto mansion, where a security guard was shot and wounded. But the judge didn’t buy that narrative.
“The context of a rap battle with inflammatory language would not lead a reasonable listener to think that ‘Not Like Us’ conveys verifiable facts,” Judge Vargas ruled. In other words: this is something common in the world of rap and that should not lead to a judicial file. The cover of the issue, which showed an aerial view of Drake’s house with sexual offender markers superimposed on it, was also dismissed as “obviously manipulated and exaggerated.” For the court, no one with half a brain would believe that this is real.
Drake, who filed the lawsuit in January, accused UMG of deliberately profiting from what he considers “dangerous and false information.” The Canadian artist does not plan to remain silent after the legal defeat and has already confirmed through his team that he will appeal to the High Court to review this decision. Universal’s response has been that “From the beginning, this lawsuit was an attack on creative freedom. It should never have existed. We are pleased with the dismissal and will continue to support Drake’s career.”
