Drake has pushed for an appeal in his dismissed lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar single "Not Like Us," ABC News reports.
Three weeks after the lawsuit was dismissed in the Southern District of New York Court by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, court reporter Matthew Russell Lee appealed the loss on Wednesday (October 29).
In January, before Kendrick performed "Not Like Us" at Super Bowl LIX, Drizzy sued UMG, alleging that the music company and the 22-time Grammy winner plotted a takedown against him. Specifically, Drake accused Kendrick of defaming him in the song's lyrics by alleging that he groomed minors.
"Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles," Kendrick rapped on "Not Like Us," which was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 22 consecutive weeks. "Why you trollin' like a bitch? Ain't you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor."
In the suit, attorneys argued that "Not Like Us" "advance[s] the false and malicious narrative that Drake is a pedophile." The five-time Grammy winner also sued for second-degree harrassment, citing Kendrick lyric: "Want action, no accident, and I’m hands-on, He fuck around, get polished."
"These “specific and unequivocal threats of violence [have] placed [Drake] in a reasonable fear of physical harm," the suit read.
But Judge Vargas contested the lyrics being factual, and asserted that they were purely for the sake of battle rap. Before "Not Like Us" released last May, Drake and Kendrick were engaged in back-and-forth diss tracks for weeks.
"'Not Like Us' is replete with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language, all of which are indicia of opinion," Vargas wrote.
Before Kendrick struck a final blow, Drake released diss tracks "Family Matters" and "Push Ups," and "Taylor Made Freestyle," which caused him to have legal trouble with 2Pac's estate.