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Drake did not get a court victory over Kendrick Lamar in the federal “Not Like Us” lawsuit. On October 9, 2025, a judge dismissed Drake’s claims against Universal Music Group (UMG), ruling that the disputed lyrics, heard in the context of a heated rap battle, were nonactionable opinion rather than verifiable statements of fact. Drake’s legal team said it intended to appeal; a later appellate outcome is not established here.
What did the judge rule?
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed Drake’s lawsuit against UMG Recordings, Inc., on October 9, 2025. The order granted UMG’s motion to dismiss. This was a district-court ruling for the label—not a ruling for Drake, and not a judgment that Kendrick Lamar was a defendant in this action. Read the opinion and order.
![Not Like Us [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51iRmmOMrJL._SL160_.jpg)
Why was the lawsuit dismissed?
The court assessed how an ordinary reasonable listener would understand the song in its context. It treated “Not Like Us” as part of a heated rap battle marked by insults, hyperbole and offensive accusations, rather than isolating a lyric and reading it as a literal factual report. The court concluded that the challenged statements were nonactionable opinion.
Vargas wrote in the October 9 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.”
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That is the court’s legal conclusion about how a reasonable listener would take the statements. The case was dismissed; the court did not hold a trial to decide whether the accusation was true or false.
What claims did Drake bring?
Drake, whose legal name is Aubrey Drake Graham, sued UMG over its publication and promotion of Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The complaint asserted claims for defamation, harassment in the second degree, and violation of New York General Business Law § 349. The defendant in this federal case was UMG, not Lamar. The opinion and order set out the claims and the court’s ruling.
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Did Drake appeal?
Associated Press reporting on October 9, 2025, said Drake’s legal team intended to appeal. That reported intention is not, by itself, confirmation that an appeal was filed or resolved. The current case-specific appellate docket status and any later decision are not established here.
The Second Circuit says appeals filed since 2010 are maintained in its CM/ECF system, accessible through PACER, and provides a separate decisions search. Those pages explain how to look for records; they do not establish the status or outcome of Drake’s case. Consult the Second Circuit’s docket information and decisions search for case-specific updates.
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What the ruling does—and does not—mean
- It means the district court dismissed Drake’s claims against UMG based on its contextual analysis of the lyrics.
- It does not mean Drake won the lawsuit or that a jury determined the accusation’s truth or falsity.
- It does not establish the outcome of any appeal; the reported intention to appeal is not a later appellate ruling.
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