Last January, Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) for alleged defamation and harassment. In the lawsuit, he alleged that the company artificially inflated the success of Kendrick Lamar's hit diss track, "Not Like Us." He alleges that in doing so, they knowingly promoted the "false and malicious" narrative that he's an alleged predator.
In October, Judge Jeannette Vargas dismissed the lawsuit, arguing that Kendrick's lyrics can't be considered defamatory because listeners wouldn't take them as fact.
“The artists’ seven-track rap battle was a ‘war of words’ that was the subject of substantial media scrutiny and online discourse,” she wrote. “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.”
Drake isn't giving up, however.
When Is Drake Dropping ICEMAN?
Rolling Stone reports that the Toronto rapper filed an opening appellate brief yesterday (January 21) in hopes of overturning the ruling and reviving his pursuit of damages. In the brief, Drake alleges that Kendrick's track states that he's a “certified pedophile” as an "unambiguous matter of fact."
Moreover, Drake alleges that the lower court created a “dangerous categorical rule” that would protect artists and their labels from defamation liability regardless of how damaging their claims might be. “The court effectively created an unprecedented and overbroad categorical rule that statements in rap diss tracks can never constitute statements of fact,” he alleges. UMG's response brief is due on March 27.
News of Drake's opening appellate brief comes amid buzz surrounding his upcoming album, ICEMAN. The project doesn't have an official release date at the time of writing, but it's expected to drop sometime in the very near future.
