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A judge has dismissed Drake's defamation lawsuit against the music corporation over Kendrick Lamar’s song the diss record.

Presiding Judge the court’s judge determined that Lamar's song lyrics, which claimed the artist and his crew of being "pedophiles", were "nonactionable opinion" and cannot be deemed libelous.

The Canadian rapper submitted the lawsuit in early this year, accusing UMG, the music company behind the two rappers, of defamation by permitting the song to be released and promoted, stating it spread a "false and malicious narrative".

The artist’s representative said he planned to challenge the decision. UMG expressed it was pleased with the outcome and was looking forward to resuming its work with the rapper.

Context of the Hip-Hop Feud

Not Like Us, which was first dropped in May 2024, was broadly viewed as the final strike in an ongoing battle between the rival rappers.

It has become the most successful track of Lamar's musical journey, having received five Grammys and being one of the most-talked about moments of his Super Bowl half-time show in February.

In a detailed ruling, the judge called the dispute between the artists "the most notorious hip-hop feud in the genre's history".

"The artists' seven-track rap battle was a 'war of words' that was the focus of substantial media scrutiny and digital debate," the judge wrote.

"While the claim that plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a grave allegation, the wider backdrop of a intense musical rivalry, with incendiary language and insulting claims hurled by each artist, would not lead the reasonable listener to believe that 'the track' imparts verifiable facts about plaintiff."

She also noted that, in an previous track, the artist had "dared Lamar to make the paedophilia accusations" that appeared in the diss record.

On the track Taylor Made Freestyle, Drake used the synthetic vocals of the late rapper to give Lamar advice 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 lyrics as 'Hey Drake, I’ve heard you prefer them young' must be evaluated," wrote Judge Vargas.

"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 real name is Aubrey Graham, did not name Lamar in the legal filing.

His legal team accused the label of launching "an effort to create a viral hit" out of a track that made the "untrue claim that Drake is a criminal paedophile, and to suggest that the audience should turn to extra-legal action in response".

Ruling against Drake, the judge said listeners would not expect "accurate factual reporting" from a diss track "replete with vulgar language, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language."

She highlighted that Drake himself had engaged in comparable rhetoric, quoting a line in which the star "strongly" suggested that "his opponent is a spouse beater", and another where Drake "raps that he 'was told' that one of his rival’s children may not be his biological offspring."

Concerning the track in question, Judge Vargas said: "Although seemingly factual claims may take on the nature of statements of opinion... when made in open discourse, intense arguments, or similar situations in which an listener may expect the use of epithets, fiery rhetoric or exaggeration."

Reacting to the rejection, a UMG representative said: "From the outset, this case was an insult to every creative and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day."

"We're pleased with the judge’s ruling and look forward to resuming our partnership successfully promoting the artist’s work and investing in his career," the representative added.

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

Kendrick Lamar has not yet issue a statement on the case.