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A court official has dismissed the rapper Drake’s legal claim targeting the music corporation concerning Kendrick Lamar’s song Not Like Us.

Judge the court’s judge decided that Lamar's song lyrics, which claimed the artist and his crew of being "certified paedophiles", were "protected opinion" and cannot be considered libelous.

Drake submitted the legal action in early this year, accusing Universal Music Group, the music company behind the two rappers, of defamation by permitting the track to be released and marketed, stating it spread a "untrue and harmful story".

The artist’s spokesperson said he planned to challenge the decision. Universal Music Group said it was satisfied with the result and was looking forward to continuing its work with the musician.

Context of the Rap Battle

The diss song, which was initially released in spring 2024, was broadly viewed as the final strike in an ongoing battle between the competing artists.

It has become the biggest hit of Lamar's career, having won five Grammys and being one of the most-discussed highlights of his Super Bowl performance in February.

In a detailed ruling, Judge Vargas called the dispute between the rappers "the most notorious hip-hop feud in the history of rap music".

"Both rappers’ series of diss tracks was a 'war of words' that was the focus of extensive press coverage and digital debate," the judge wrote.

"While the claim that plaintiff is a child predator is undoubtedly a serious one, the wider backdrop of a intense musical rivalry, with provocative remarks and insulting claims exchanged by each artist, would not lead the reasonable listener to believe that 'Not Like Us' conveys truthful statements about plaintiff."

She also noted that, in an earlier song, Drake had "challenged his rival to make the pedophile claims" that appeared in Not Like Us.

On the track Taylor Made Freestyle, Drake used the AI-generated voice of Tupac Shakur to suggest strategies on how to win the rap battle.

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

"Against this backdrop in which such lines as 'Hey Drake, I’ve heard you prefer them young' must be evaluated," wrote the court.

"The parallel in the phrasing strongly indicates that this lyric is a direct callback to Drake's lyrics in the earlier release."

'An Affront to Artists'

The musician, whose legal name is Aubrey Drake Graham, did not name Lamar in the legal filing.

His legal team alleged UMG of launching "an effort to generate a viral hit" out of a release that made the "false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal paedophile, and to suggest that the audience should resort to vigilante justice in retaliation".

Ruling against the plaintiff, Judge Vargas said listeners would not expect "truthful accounts" from a musical attack "filled with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and exaggerated statements."

She pointed out that Drake himself had engaged in similar language, quoting a line in which the star "heavily" suggested that "his opponent is a domestic abuser", and another where Drake "claims that he 'heard' that one of his rival’s children may not be his biological offspring."

Concerning Lamar's song, the court said: "Even apparent statements of fact may take on the nature of subjective views... when made in public debate, intense arguments, or similar situations in which an audience may anticipate the use of slurs, passionate language or exaggeration."

Reacting to the rejection, a label representative said: "From the outset, this case was an affront to all artists and their artistic freedom and never should have been filed."

"We are satisfied with the court's dismissal and are eager to resuming our partnership effectively promoting the artist’s work and investing in his artistic path," the spokesperson added.

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

Kendrick Lamar has not yet comment on the legal matter.