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A judge has thrown out Drake's defamation lawsuit against the music corporation concerning Kendrick Lamar's track Not Like Us.

Judge the court’s judge ruled that the rapper’s song lyrics, which accused the artist and his associates of being "pedophiles", were "nonactionable opinion" and cannot be considered defamatory.

Drake filed the legal action in January, accusing Universal Music Group, the record label representing the two rappers, of defamatory conduct by allowing the song to be released and promoted, stating it disseminated a "untrue and harmful story".

The artist’s spokesperson stated he planned to challenge the ruling. Universal Music Group expressed it was pleased with the result and was looking forward to resuming its work with the rapper.

Background of the Hip-Hop Feud

Not Like Us, which was first dropped in spring 2024, was broadly viewed as the decisive blow in an continuing feud between the rival rappers.

It has emerged as the biggest hit of the rapper’s musical journey, having received multiple Grammy awards and being one of the most-talked about moments of his Super Bowl half-time show in February.

In a detailed ruling, Judge Vargas called the row between the rappers "the most infamous rap battle in the genre's history".

"The artists' series of diss tracks was a 'war of words' that was the focus of substantial media scrutiny and digital debate," the court noted.

"Although the claim that Drake is a child predator is certainly a serious one, the wider backdrop of a intense musical rivalry, with incendiary language and offensive accusations exchanged by both participants, would not lead the average audience to believe that 'the track' imparts verifiable facts about plaintiff."

She additionally observed that, in an previous track, Drake had "challenged his rival to make the paedophilia accusations" that featured in Not Like Us.

On the song Taylor Made Freestyle, the rapper used the synthetic vocals of Tupac Shakur to give Lamar advice on how to prevail in the feud.

"Talk about him likin' young girls, that's a gift from me," the song suggested.

"Against this backdrop in which such lyrics as 'Hey Drake, I’ve heard you prefer them young' must be assessed," wrote Judge Vargas.

"The parallel in the wording strongly indicates that this line is a clear reference to the artist’s own words in the prior song."

'An Affront to Artists'

Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, did not name his rival in the lawsuit.

His legal team accused UMG of initiating "an effort to generate a viral hit" out of a track that made the "untrue claim that the artist is a criminal paedophile, and to suggest that the audience should resort to extra-legal action in response".

Ruling against the plaintiff, Judge Vargas said listeners would not expect "truthful accounts" from a diss track "replete with profanity, trash-talking, violent implications, and figurative and hyperbolic language."

She pointed out that the rapper himself had engaged in similar language, referencing a line in which the artist "heavily" implied that "his opponent is a spouse beater", and a separate instance where he "claims that he 'heard' that one of his rival’s sons may not be biologically his."

Concerning Lamar's song, the court said: "Even apparent statements of fact may take on the nature of statements of opinion... when made in public debate, heated labour dispute, or similar situations in which an listener may anticipate the use of epithets, fiery rhetoric or exaggeration."

Responding to the dismissal, a label spokesperson said: "From the outset, this lawsuit was an affront to every creative and their artistic freedom and should not have seen the light of day."

"We are satisfied with the court's dismissal and are eager to resuming our partnership successfully marketing the artist’s work and supporting his artistic path," the spokesperson continued.

A representative for Drake said the artist intended to contest the ruling, "and we await the appellate court reviewing it".

Lamar has yet to comment on the legal matter.