Drake appealed the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), which accused the company of publishing and promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The appeal challenges the legal reasoning behind the dismissal; it is not a new trial, does not establish that Drake’s allegations are true, and does not name Lamar as a defendant in the original complaint. The latest appeal activity established by the cited reports is a reply brief filed April 17, 2026. Those reports do not verify what happened in the Second Circuit after that date, so the appeal’s current status as of October 4, 2026, is unconfirmed here.
What Drake is appealing
Drake filed his complaint against UMG Recordings on January 15, 2025, alleging that the company knowingly published and promoted defamatory content in “Not Like Us.” These were allegations in a complaint, not findings that UMG acted unlawfully. Kendrick Lamar was not named as a defendant.
After the case was dismissed, Drake asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse that result. The appellate question is whether the district court made errors that require the dismissal to be undone—not whether an appeal filing proves the underlying accusations.
Why the district court dismissed the case
On October 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas dismissed Drake’s suit. The reported reasoning focused on how a reasonable listener would understand “Not Like Us” in context: as part of an escalating rap battle marked by inflammatory language and accusations, rather than as a set of verifiable factual assertions.
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The Associated Press quoted Vargas explaining: “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 district court’s explanation for its ruling. It is not a categorical rule that rap lyrics can never support a defamation claim.
What Drake argues in the appeal
Drake’s lawyers argue that the district court mishandled the case by relying on material outside the complaint, weighing evidence, and drawing inferences against Drake. They also challenge the court’s reasonable-listener analysis and its use of context from Lamar’s earlier “Taylor Made Freestyle.” These are arguments in Drake’s appellate filings, not findings by the Second Circuit.
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Music Business Worldwide reproduced this sentence from Drake’s reply brief: “The District Court relied heavily on matters outside the pleadings, weighed the evidence, made adverse factual findings contradicting well-pleaded facts, and improperly drew inferences against Drake.” The appeal therefore puts the district court’s method and interpretation at issue; it does not itself resolve the factual dispute over UMG’s alleged conduct.
Key dates in the UMG lawsuit and appeal
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| January 15, 2025 | Drake filed his complaint against UMG Recordings. |
| October 9, 2025 | Judge Vargas dismissed the defamation suit. |
| January 22, 2026 | Pitchfork reported that Drake had filed an opening appellate brief seeking reversal. |
| April 17, 2026 | Drake filed a reply brief, reported by Music Business Worldwide on April 21. |
| After April 2026 | The cited reports do not establish a later Second Circuit ruling or other docket action. |
What is known about the appeal’s outcome
The latest appeal development established by these reports is the April 17, 2026 reply brief. They do not verify a later decision or other court action. The Second Circuit’s status after that filing—and, therefore, whether the dismissal has since been affirmed, reversed, or otherwise addressed—cannot be confirmed from those sources.
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