Key Takeaways:

• The enchantment argues that diss monitor lyrics might be defamatory if offered as truth.
• Drake’s authorized group claims Universal music Group promoted the monitor in a dangerous manner.
• The case might set a precedent for a way rap lyrics are handled in court docket when reputations are on the road.

Drake is trying to revive his defamation lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” On Wednesday (Jan. 21) night, he and his authorized group submitted a gap appellate transient that accused Universal music Group of “relentlessly” selling the track in a manner that broken his public picture.

According to music/music-news/drake-kendrick-lamar-not-like-us-appeals-defamation-case-1235503200/”>Rolling Stone, the 60-page submitting pushed again on District Judge Jeannette Vargas’ ruling that diss tracks in hip hop fall beneath “non-actionable opinion.” Drake’s authorized group argued it created a “dangerous categorical rule” that may successfully eradicate accountability for defamatory claims made in such songs altogether.

The transient learn, “The court effectively created an unprecedented and overbroad categorical rule that statements in rap diss tracks can never constitute statements of fact.” Drake additionally claimed that the Grammy Award-winning file presents, as an “unambiguous matter of fact,” that he’s a “certified pedophile.”

Among the opposite factors raised have been the “ubiquitous cover art” for “Not Like Us,” which options Drake’s Toronto mansion. As a consequence, the OVO frontman contended that the case must be heard by a jury and is requesting it’s despatched again for trial relatively than dismissed outright. UMG has till March 27 to submit their response transient.

Drake making an attempt to overturn Judge Vargas’ determination shouldn’t come as a lot of a shock. Last October, his attorneys “formally stated his intention to appeal” simply weeks after the case was tossed. At the time, they instructed Billboard, “This confirms our intent to appeal, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing that filing in the coming weeks.”

In her unique ruling, Judge Vargas described Drake and Lamar’s rap beef as “war of words” with offensive accusations made by each side. She wrote, “Although the accusation that plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts about plaintiff.”