Drake escalated his authorized conflict with UMG p by interesting a federal court docket’s dismissal of his defamation case over “Not Like Us.”

Drake has formally taken his authorized battle with Universal music Group to the subsequent degree by submitting an attraction after a federal choose tossed out his defamation go well with over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”

On October 29, attorneys for the rapper submitted a discover of attraction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The submitting reads: “Plaintiff Aubrey Drake Graham hereby appeals from the District Court’s Opinion and Order entered on October 9, 2025 (ECF No. 96) in the above-captioned case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.”

The transfer follows a ruling by Judge Jeannette Vargas, who dismissed Drake’s lawsuit earlier this month in Manhattan federal court docket.

The case centered across the declare that Lamar’s Grammy-winning track falsely portrayed Drake as a pedophile, which the Toronto artist argued positioned each him and his household at risk.

Judge Vargas concluded the lyrics had been a “nonactionable opinion” and fell underneath the umbrella of protected inventive expression. She additionally famous the tune’s context—an aggressive Hip-Hop feud—wouldn’t lead an affordable particular person to interpret the lyrics as factual statements.

Drake didn’t sue Kendrick Lamar instantly. Instead, he focused music-group”>Universal music Group, the distributor of “Not Like Us,” claiming the label profited from and amplified the alleged defamation.

The lawsuit additionally accused UMG of manipulating the tune’s success by means of pay-for-play ways and synthetic streaming boosts, however the court docket dismissed these claims for lack of credible proof.

UMG responded to the dismissal with approval, labeling the lawsuit as an assault on inventive freedom. The firm said it “should never have been filed.”

“Not Like Us” has develop into Kendrick Lamar’s greatest industrial hit, incomes 5 Grammy Awards and anchoring his high-profile Super Bowl halftime efficiency.

The court docket’s choice successfully ended Drake’s declare that UMG was legally accountable for the tune’s content material.

Drake’s attraction retains the authorized battle alive, with the case now heading to the Second Circuit for additional assessment.

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