Making good on his promise, Drake filed his formal notice of appeal in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, officially starting the clock on his effort to revive his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group related to Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us.”
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on Oct. 9, saying the lyrics in the song referring to Drake as a “certified pedophile” were “non-actionable opinion.” Drake immediately vowed an appeal after Judge Jeannette A. Vargas issued her ruling. Drake said in his notice that he will be seeking to overturn Judge Vargas’ decision with an action in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
“This confirms our intent to appeal, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing that filing in the coming weeks,” a spokesperson for Drake said in a statement to Rolling Stone on Wednesday.
“The issue in this case is whether ‘Not Like Us’ can reasonably be understood to convey as a factual matter that Drake is a pedophile or that he has engaged in sexual relations with minors. In light of the overall context in which the statements in the recording were made, the court holds that it cannot,” Judge Vargas wrote in her opinion that Drake is challenging. “The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content.”
UMG did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. But in a prior statement shared with Rolling Stone, the music behemoth said it was happy with the court’s dismissal. “From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day,” a spokesperson said. “We’re pleased with the court’s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”
Drake filed his lawsuit in January, claiming “Not Like Us” was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile.” Drake did not sue Lamar, only their shared label. He claimed UMG knew the statement was faled when it distributed the track, and he also accused UMG of covertly working with Spotify to boost the popularity of “Not Like Us.” UMG denied the allegations in a scathing motion to dismiss the suit.
In tossing the suit, Judge Vargas said the defamation claims needed to be examined within the context of Drake’s and Lamar’s extended rap battle, “in which both participants exchanged progressively caustic, inflammatory insults and accusations.” Judge Vargas even cited the song Drake released before “Not Like Us,” “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which contained an AI-generated Tupac voice trying to goad Lamar into talking about Drake “liking young girls.”
She said “Not Like Us” was not a standalone work and “must be placed in its appropriate factual context.” She wrote that Lamar’s lines — such as, “Say Drake, I hear you like ‘em young” — “must be assessed” in relation to Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle,” stating, “The similarity in the wording suggests strongly that this line is a direct callback to Drake’s lyrics in the prior song.”
