Drake’s legal team has filed an appeal in his dismissed lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) for the release and promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s scathing diss track, “Not Like Us.”
In court documents reviewed by Complex, Drizzy argues that he deserves damages for the release of “Not Like Us,” regardless of the dismissal in the case. He reiterates his belief that Lamar’s song states as a fact that Drake is a pedophile. On the song, K Dot raps, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles … Why you trollin' like a bitch? Ain't you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor.”
“The Recording was intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest vigilante justice as a response," reads the appeal. “The Recording is defamatory because its lyrics, its album image (the ‘Image’), and its music video (the ‘Video’) all advance the false and malicious narrative that Drake is a pedophile.”
He accuses UMG of “relentlessly” marketing the track, misleading listeners into believing the allegations Kendrick rapped on the track, causing harm to Drizzy and his reputation. The lawsuit was dismissed, but the Canadian superstar’s legal team believes that its dismissal could set a “dangerous categorical rule,” prohibiting others from filing defamation cases against artists or labels. “The court effectively created an unprecedented and overbroad categorical rule that statements in rap diss tracks can never constitute statements of fact,” the appeal reads.
U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette A. Vargas concluded, when the lawsuit was dismissed, that K Dot’s lyrics disparaging Drake were “nonactionable opinion,” not a statement of fact. She also stated that the context surrounding the song, which was described as “a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants,” would not lead people to believe that Lamar’s lyrics “impart verifiable facts.”
“Notwithstanding a relationship spanning more than a decade, UMG intentionally sought to turn Drake into a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse,” the appeal argues. UMG will need to respond to the appeal by March 27.