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Drake's legal team has responded to Universal Music Group's recent motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit the rapper filed against the label regarding the diss track Not Like Us. In their recent statement, the Canadian rapper's attorneys have accused the company of hiding behind the rap beef to be "greedy" and profit from spreading "dangerous misinformation."
On March 17, 2025, UMG filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit at a New York court, claiming that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated." Following this, Drake's attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, responded with a statement to Variety, saying:
"UMG wants to pretend that this is about a rap battle in order to distract its shareholders, artists and the public from a simple truth: a greedy company is finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation that has already resulted in multiple acts of violence."
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The statement continued:
"This motion is a desperate ploy by UMG to avoid accountability but we have every confidence that this case will proceed and continue to uncover UMG’s long history of endangering, abusing and taking advantage of its artists."
For the unversed, Drake sued his label, UMG, in January 2025 for defamation and harassment, alleging the record label “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track.”
The "rap track" in question was Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us, released in May 2025 towards the tail end of his rap beef with the Canadian rapper, where he accused the latter of being a "certified p*dophile."
UMG accused Drake of suing the company in a "misguided attempt” to “salve his wounds” following his loss in the rap beef
The lawsuit between Drake and UMG hinges on the diss track Not Like Us, which went viral following its release. The track broke records on streaming platforms and won five Grammys. The Compton rapper performed the track when he headlined the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
While the defamation lawsuit, filed against UMG in January 2025, did not mention Lamar by name, it accused the record label of releasing and promoting the track that contained "specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal p*dophile." For context, both rappers are signed to UMG under different imprints.
The lawsuit also claimed the track posed a threat to the life of the rapper and his family, citing a shooting incident that happened outside his Toronto house days after the song's release. However, UMG denied all allegations and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on March 17.
In the motion, the record label claimed that the rapper voluntarily engaged in the rap beef and, instead of "accepting the loss", he sued his record label in a "misguided attempt to salve his wounds."
“Plaintiff, one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated. Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds,” the motion read.
The motion highlighted Drake's role in fueling the feud, citing his track Taylor Made Freestyle, where he provoked Lamar.
This was Drake’s second diss track after Push Ups, but it was removed after Tupac Shakur’s estate issued a cease-and-desist for using Shakur's AI-generated voice without permission.
"In spring of 2024 two of the most popular artists in the world engaged in a rap battle […] Drake encouraged the feud, for example, when he felt that Lamar was taking too long to respond, Drake released a second recording (Taylor Made) in which he goaded Lamar to continue the public rap battle. Lamar did just that," the motion read.
UMG claimed Not Like Us was not defamatory
In its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, UMG claimed that while Drake alleged Not Like Us was defamatory, it was not, adding that the track allegedly used "nonactionable opinion and rhetorical hyperbole." The record label also alleged that the Canadian rapper used the same tactic in his diss tracks targeting Kendrick Lamar.
It referenced the accusations the 6 God leveled against Lamar in his diss tracks Family Matters, where he claimed that Lamar physically abused his wife in one instance, and also alleged that Lamar's son was fathered by his business partner, Dave Free.
"Drake has been pleased to use UMG’s platform to promote tracks leveling similarly incendiary attacks at Lamar, including, most significantly, that Lamar engaged in domestic abuse and that one of Lamar’s business partners and managers is the true father of Lamar’s son. But now, after losing the rap battle, Drake claims that “Not Like Us” is defamatory. It is not." the motion read.
The label noted that Drake had signed a 2022 petition against using song lyrics as evidence in court, stating, "Drake was right then and wrong now." The motion urged the court to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, calling it an attempt to "save face" after his failed rap battle with Lamar.
According to Billboard, the judge will rule on UMG's motion to dismiss the lawsuit in the upcoming months and if denied, the case will proceed with discovery and trial.
