Slander or 'trash-talking'? Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud has a day in court

SerenityEntertainment2025-07-011437
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NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge is pondering the nature of rap battles and the cutting wordplay in Kendrick Lamar ’s “Not Like Us,” the megahit diss track that spurred a defamation lawsuit from his fellow superstar Drake.

Drake sued Universal Music Group — both his and Lamar's record label — over “Not Like Us,” saying the company published and promoted a song he deems slanderous. Universal says the lyrics are just hyperbole in the tradition of rap beefing, and the label is trying to get the case dismissed.

Judge Jeannette Vargas didn't immediately decide after a lively hearing Monday, when the raw creativity of hip-hop brushed up against the staid confines of federal court.

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“Who is the ordinary listener? Is it someone who’s going to catch all those references?” Vargas wondered aloud, addressing a legal standard that concerns how an average, reasonable person would understand a statement. “There's so much specialized and nuanced to these lyrics.”

Neither artist attended the hearing.

The case stems from an epic feud between two of hip-hop's biggest stars over one of 2024 biggest songs — the one that won the record of the year and song of the year Grammys, got the most Apple Music streams worldwide and helped make this winter's Super Bowl halftime show the most watched ever.

Released as the two artists were trading a flurry of insult tracks, Lamar's song calls out the Canadian-born Drake by name and impugns his authenticity, branding him “a colonizer” of rap culture who's “not like us” in Lamar's home turf of Compton, California, and, more broadly, West Coast rap.

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“Not Like Us” also makes insinuations about Drake's sex life, including "I hear you like ’em young" — implications that he rejects.

Drake's suit says that the song amounts to “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts" and more. Contending that the track endangered him by fanning notions of vigilante justice, the suit blames “Not Like Us” not only for harming Drake's image but for attempted break-ins and the shooting of a security guard at his Toronto home. The mansion was depicted in an aerial photo in the song's cover art.

“This song achieved a cultural ubiquity unlike any other rap song in history,” Drake lawyer Michael Gottlieb said. He argued that Universal had campaigned and contrived to make it "a de facto national anthem” that didn't just address hip-hop fans who knew the backstory and were accustomed to over-the-top lyrical battling.

The average listener could be “a 13-year-old who’s dancing to the song at a bar mitzvah,” Gottlieb suggested.

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“That would be a very interesting bar mitzvah,” the judge opined. (The song has indeed been played at some such celebrations.)

Universal, meanwhile, has emphasized that “Not Like Us” was part of an exchange of barbs between Drake and Lamar.

“Context is key,” label lawyer Rollin Ransom argued Monday, at one point apologizing for having to use profanity while reciting some of the lyrics Drake aimed at Lamar in a track called “Taylor Made Freestyle.”

“What you hear in these rap battles is trash-talking in the extreme, and it is not, and should not be treated as, statements of fact," the attorney said.

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The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Drake also went after iHeartMedia, claiming in a Texas legal petition that the radio giant got illegal payments from Universal to boost airplay for “Not Like Us.” IHeartMedia has denied any wrongdoing. That dispute was resolved in March.

Drake hasn’t sued Lamar himself.

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Annalise

Drake-Kendrick Lamar's alleged feud in the spotlight: is it just slander or a form of trash talk intended to stir up competition? Only time and their forthcoming court appearance will reveal whether this rumored divide has any substance beyond musical bragging rights.

2025-07-02 06:51:55 reply
Artie

The ongoing legal battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar regarding their online 'trash-talking' has started: Is it mere slander or just the最新娱乐圈Feud of 20xx? Time in court will reveal truth from trolls.

2025-07-04 16:14:57 reply
Phoenix

Drake's-Kendrick Lamar verbal exchanges - the debate rages on: Slander or harmless trash talk under hip hop culture? The witness of each performance stands as a clue in this intriguing courtship, whose outcome continues to fuel fan speculation and loyalty tests.

2025-07-04 16:15:12 reply
Blaine

The rumored Drake-Kendrick Lamar 'feud' seen through the lens of courts might just be another round in their masterful artistry game: mischievous ploy to fan passions by means Slander or what some call trash talking.

2025-07-04 16:15:26 reply
Opaline

Drake and Kendrick Lamar's alleged feud, often misconstruable as mere 'trash-talking,' ingrains the industry with a day in court that serves only to raise questions about genuine creative rivalries versus harmless artistic debate.

2025-07-08 11:01:41 reply
Indie

While the alleged Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud remains a subject of speculation, it boils down to slander or just good old 'trash talk' in hip hop culture. The outcome will be eagerly awaited with bated breath by both fans and detractors alike.

2025-07-21 08:42:29 reply
Fleur

Yet, in the unlikely feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar—Slander or 'trash-talking' as popular culture would suggest; what remains a mystery may very well unfold on their court day.

2025-07-21 08:42:44 reply

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