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A court official has rejected the rapper Drake’s legal claim against the music corporation over Kendrick Lamar's song Not Like Us.

Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that Lamar's song lyrics, which claimed the artist and his crew of being "pedophiles", were "nonactionable opinion" and could not be considered libelous.

Drake filed the legal action in early this year, accusing UMG, the music company representing the two rappers, of defamatory conduct by permitting the track to be released and promoted, stating it spread a "untrue and harmful story".

Drake's representative said he planned to appeal the ruling. UMG said it was satisfied with the result and was looking forward to resuming its work with the rapper.

Context of the Rap Battle

The diss song, which was first dropped in May 2024, was widely seen as the decisive blow in an continuing feud between the competing artists.

It has become the biggest hit of the rapper’s career, having won multiple Grammy awards and being one of the most-discussed moments of his Super Bowl half-time show in early 2025.

In a 38-page order, Judge Vargas called the row between the rappers "the most notorious hip-hop feud in the genre's history".

"The artists' series of diss tracks was a 'verbal conflict' that was the focus of extensive press coverage and digital debate," the judge noted.

"Although the claim that Drake is a child predator is undoubtedly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and insulting claims exchanged by both participants, would not lead the average audience to believe that 'the track' imparts verifiable facts about the claimant."

She also noted that, in an earlier song, Drake had "dared Lamar to make the pedophile claims" that appeared in the diss record.

On the track his own release, Drake used the AI-generated voice of Tupac Shakur to give Lamar advice on how to prevail in the feud.

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

"It is in this context in which such lines as 'Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young' must be evaluated," wrote Judge Vargas.

"The parallel in the wording strongly indicates that this lyric is a direct callback to the artist’s own words in the earlier release."

'A Slap in the Face to Creatives'

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

His lawyers alleged UMG of initiating "an effort to create a viral hit" out of a track that made the "untrue claim that the artist is a criminal paedophile, and to suggest that the public should turn to vigilante justice in retaliation".

Deciding against Drake, Judge Vargas said fans would not expect "truthful accounts" from a musical attack "replete with profanity, insults, violent implications, and figurative and hyperbolic language."

She highlighted that Drake himself had engaged in comparable rhetoric, quoting a line in which the artist "strongly" suggested that "his opponent is a domestic abuser", and a separate instance where Drake "raps that he 'heard' that one of Lamar's sons may not be biologically his."

Regarding Lamar's song, Judge Vargas said: "Even apparent statements of fact may assume the character of statements of opinion... when made in public debate, intense arguments, or other circumstances in which an listener may anticipate the use of epithets, fiery rhetoric or exaggeration."

Reacting to the rejection, a label spokesperson said: "From the outset, this lawsuit was an insult to all artists and their creative expression and should not have been filed."

"We are satisfied with the judge’s ruling and are eager to continuing our work successfully promoting the artist’s work and investing in his artistic path," the spokesperson added.

A spokesperson for the musician said the artist intended to contest the ruling, "and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing it".

Lamar has yet to comment on the case.