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A court official has rejected the rapper Drake’s legal claim targeting Universal Music Group concerning Kendrick Lamar’s song Not Like Us.

Judge Jeannette Vargas decided that the rapper’s lyrics, which claimed Drake and his associates of being "certified paedophiles", were "nonactionable opinion" and cannot be deemed libelous.

Drake filed the lawsuit in early this year, claiming UMG, the record label behind both artists, of defamatory conduct by allowing the song to be published and marketed, saying it disseminated a "false and malicious narrative".

The artist’s spokesperson said he intended to appeal the decision. UMG said it was satisfied with the result and was eager to resuming its work with the musician.

Context of the Hip-Hop Feud

Not Like Us, which was initially released in May 2024, was broadly viewed as the decisive blow in an ongoing battle between the rival rappers.

It has emerged as the biggest hit of Lamar's career, having received multiple Grammy awards and being one of the most-discussed moments of his Super Bowl half-time show in February.

In a 38-page order, the judge called the row between the rappers "the most notorious hip-hop feud in the history of rap music".

"The artists' seven-track rap battle was a 'war of words' that was the focus of substantial media scrutiny and online discourse," the judge noted.

"While the claim that plaintiff is a child predator is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a intense musical rivalry, with provocative remarks and insulting claims hurled by both participants, would not lead the reasonable listener to believe that 'the track' imparts verifiable facts about the claimant."

She also noted that, in an earlier song, Drake had "challenged Lamar to make the pedophile claims" that appeared in the diss record.

On the track his own release, the rapper used the AI-generated voice of Tupac Shakur to give Lamar advice on how to prevail in the feud.

"Talk about him likin' young girls, that's a gift from me," the song proposed.

"It is in this context in which such lines as 'Hey Drake, I’ve heard you prefer them young' must be assessed," stated the court.

"The similarity in the wording suggests strongly that this line is a direct callback to the artist’s own words in the earlier release."

'A Slap in the Face to Creatives'

Drake, whose legal name is Aubrey Graham, did not name Lamar in the legal filing.

His lawyers accused UMG of initiating "an effort to create a popular song" out of a release that made the "false factual allegation that Drake is a convicted predator, and to suggest that the audience should resort to extra-legal action in retaliation".

Deciding against the plaintiff, the judge said listeners would not expect "truthful accounts" from a diss track "filled with profanity, trash-talking, violent implications, and figurative and hyperbolic language."

She highlighted that the rapper himself had engaged in comparable rhetoric, referencing a line in which the star "strongly" suggested that "his opponent is a domestic abuser", and another where Drake "raps that he 'heard' that one of his rival’s children may not be his biological offspring."

Regarding the track in question, the court said: "Even seemingly factual claims may take on the nature of subjective views... when made in public debate, intense arguments, or other circumstances in which an listener may anticipate the use of epithets, passionate language or exaggeration."

Reacting to the rejection, a label spokesperson said: "From the beginning, this lawsuit was an insult to all artists and their creative expression and never should have been filed."

"We are satisfied with the court's dismissal and are eager to resuming our work successfully promoting the artist’s work and supporting his artistic path," the representative continued.

A spokesperson for the musician said the rapper planned to appeal the decision, "and we await the Court of Appeals reviewing it".

Kendrick Lamar has not yet comment on the legal matter.