Alleging a conspiracy within his own record label to inflate Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ “diss” track, Drake has lost his legal case against Universal Music Group (UMG).
Zeroing in on the song’s innuendo that the musician (born Aubrey Drake Graha) was an alleged pedophile, which he claimed was defamatory, the multi-Grammy award winning rapper inferred that his own record label hoped the damage to his brand would make contract renegotiations with him easier in the future.
The almost year-long legal battle divided the music industry between those who cheered on Drake for taking on those who profit from hip-hop artists and those who believed going to court over a rap beef was counterproductive.
At one point, Drake’s attorneys put the responsibility on UMG to disprove his claims that Kendrick is not the biological father of both his children.
On Thursday (10.09,) US District Judge Jeannette Vargas determined the allegedly defamatory statements at issue in the lawsuit are “non-actionable opinion” and dismissed the the 38-year old musician’s lawsuit against UMG, stating:
“Not Like Us is replete with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language, all of which are indicia of opinion.” “A rap diss track would not create more of an expectation in the average listener that the lyrics state sober facts instead of opinion than the statements at issue in those cases.”
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Lunchbox LP