The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has taken a legal turn, as Universal Music Group (UMG) has officially filed a motion to dismiss Drake’s defamation lawsuit.
Drake had sued earlier this year, alleging that UMG supported and promoted a “false and malicious narrative” about him by backing Lamar’s viral diss track, Not Like Us. However, UMG is pushing back, calling the lawsuit “utterly without merit.”
In newly filed court documents, the music giant argued:
“[Drake] is one of the most successful recording artists of all time; [he] 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.”
UMG also defended Not Like Us, stating that the song is “nonactionable opinion and rhetorical hyperbole” and highlighting its Grammy wins and Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.
With UMG standing firm and Lamar still capitalizing on the track’s massive success, Drake’s legal battle could be an uphill fight.
