By: Tyler Steffen
At the beginning of 2025, Aubrey Drake Graham (“Drake”) filed a lawsuit for defamation against his own label, Universal Music Group (UMG), over the release and promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s, “Not Like Us.”[1] Lamar dropped the single after both artists rapidly released songs full of attacks regarding race, appropriation, sexual and physical abuse, misogyny, generational trauma and more.[2] “Not Like Us,” which quickly became a chart-topping song, even sweeping the 2025 Grammy Awards, is famous for the lyrics that accuse Drake, in so many words, of being a pedophile.[3] These lyrics have become the center of Drake’s lawsuit.
In the suit, Drake accuses UMG of launching a campaign to make the rap track into a viral hit that was intended to convey the false allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile and encourage the public to resort to vigilante justice in response.[4] Drake claims that UMG chose corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists, noting that soon after the release of the song, a group of assailants showed up at his Toronto home and opened fire, injuring a security guard.[5] Drake is represented by Michael K. Gottlieb, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who previously presented the owner of the Washington pizzeria targeted by conspiracy theorists and the election workers falsely accused of aiding a false plot to steal the 2020 election.[6]
To prove defamation under New York law, Drake will have to prove that there was a false statement made without privilege or authorization that caused harm.[7] Since Drake is a public figure, he will also have to prove that UMG acted with actual malice.[8] Actual malice is established with knowledge that the statement was false or reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.[9]
In a response to the lawsuit, UMG stated that Drake seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression.[10] Additionally, UMG called the claims untrue and illogical, pointing to its longstanding business relationship with Drake.[11] UMG stated that the company has “invested massively in [Drake’s] music” and that “Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’” in the past.[12]
UMG can likely bring several defenses such as arguing that Lamar’s lyrics are protected artistic expression shielded by the First Amendment, that the allegations are true, and that there is no actual malice since they reasonably relied on Lamar’s representations.[13] This case touches on a core trend and issue in defamation law: how do courts handle balancing free speech protections with the need to prevent reputations harm? For UMG, this case could set a precedent for how record labels take a more active role in monitoring their artist’s content for possible defamatory content.[14] Artists, particularly those who pen diss tracks, may think about the potential fallout of escalating personal rivalries.[15] Especially in the age of social media, the world is hyperconnected and possible defamatory content can spread like wildfire.
Drake and his team have shown that they are up for a fight. In a statement released mere hours before Lamar’s highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance, they stated that “there is nothing entertaining about pedophilia or child abuse in the real world” and they are confident that the evidence presented at trial will expose UMG’s prioritization of its own corporate profits over artist’s well-being and truth.[16]
[1] Joe Coscarelli, Drake Sues His Label, Calling Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Defamatory, New York Times (Jan. 15, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/arts/music/drake-kendrick-lamar-lawsuit-not-like-us.html.
[2] Joe Coscarelli, Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake Beef Goes Nuclear: What to Know, New York Times (May 6, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/06/arts/music/kendrick-lamar-drake-explainer.html.
[3] Nadira Goffe, Does Drake’s Lawsuit Over Kendrick Lamar’s Diss Track Stand a Chance? A Lawyer Explains, Slate (Feb. 7, 2025), https://slate.com/culture/2025/02/kendrick-lamar-drake-beef-feud-not-like-us-lawsuit-umg-super-bowl-grammys.html.
[4] Coscarelli, supra note 1.
[5] Lauren Berg, Drake Says Violence Followed UMG Boosting ‘Pedo’ Claim, Law 360 (Jan. 15, 2025), https://www.law360.com/articles/2284658/drake-says-violence-followed-umg-boosting-pedo-claim.
[6] Coscarelli, supra note 1.
[7] Frechtman v. Gutterman, 115 A.D.3d 102, 104 (N.Y. App. Div. 2014).
[8] New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 280 (1964).
[9] Id.
[10] Coscarelli, supra note 1.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Enrico Trevisani, Poetic Justice? Drake’s ‘Not Like Us’ Suit May Alter Music Biz, Law 360 (Feb. 6, 2025), https://www.law360.com/articles/2293526/poetic-justice-drake-s-not-like-us-suit-may-alter-music-biz.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Armon Sadler, Drake’s Legal Team Issued UMG Lawsuit Statement Hours Before Kenrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX Performance, VIBE (Feb. 10, 2025), https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/drake-legal-umg-statement-kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-1234993095/.
