Rap lyrics are treated differently than other genres when it comes to facing legal consequences. Even when things are stated in the starkest of terms, there’s a degree of artistic license that is assumed. Gerard Way and the rest of My Chemical Romance didn’t get any unexpected wellness checks or the like after their repeated performances of “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).” Nor did Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr get charged with threatening a minor for the line “I’d rather see you dead, little girl / Than to be with another man” on the song “Run For Your Life.” Taylor Swift has written several songs about her exes and hasn’t been dragged to court over aired laundry. And yet, Zohran Mamdani risks being denaturalized over rap lyrics from nearly a decade ago. If only Young Cardamom was a Country act.
After getting musically beaten, curbstomped, and victory lapped by Kendrick Lamar, Aubrey Graham is leaning on legal in a last ditch effort to fake influence and win a rap battle. Drake has pointed the blame at Universal Music Group, Spotify, miscellaneous YouTube streamers — hell, everyone but Kendrick Lamar — arguing that the rap battle tipped over into defamation when Lamar accused Drake of being a pedophile. In what is the legal equivalent of responding “boo hoo,” UMG is moving to dismiss the suit. Law360 has coverage:
Universal Music Group on Monday urged a New York federal judge to dismiss a defamation suit from hip-hop star Drake against the record label over the hit dis track “Not Like Us” by his rival Kendrick Lamar, casting Lamar’s lyrics as opinion and hyperbole.
…
At a hearing Monday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an attorney for UMG, Rollin Ransom of Sidley Austin LLP, argued that the context surrounding Lamar’s statements is key, because contextual analysis often determines whether statements are asserted as fact or opinion.“What you hear in these rap battles is trash talking to the extreme, and should not be treated as statements of fact,” Ransom said.
Part of the dispute hinges on Kendrick using the phrase “certified pedophiles” in the song “Not Like Us.” The judge showed some concern that the qualifier certified could be read as Kendrick saying that Drake was officially proven to be a pedophile. Ransom responded that an ordinary listener should have enough context to listen to the song and not read the certified bit as a foregone legal conclusion. I think that he’s right. Drake has referred to himself as a “certified lover boy”– he dropped an album with the same name in 2021 — it just seems like Kendrick was flipping the word certified. Rappers do lyric flips all the time. What’s next, holding a rapper civilly liable for a double entendre?
The judge has yet to rule on the case. Would be nice if this case was wrapped up so we could all listen to the new Clipse album without worrying that it, too, will become evidence in a Drake lawsuit.
UMG Says Drake Insults Are Just Trash Talk, Not Defamation [Law360]
Earlier: Drake’s Attempt To Parlay Rap Battle Loss Into Courtroom Success Results In Another Loss
I Don’t Think People Understand How Silly It Is To Use Song Lyrics As Evidence
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
The post Universal Music Group Pushes To Dismiss Drake’s Desperate Attempt To Save Face From Lyrical Beatdown appeared first on Above the Law.
Rap lyrics are treated differently than other genres when it comes to facing legal consequences. Even when things are stated in the starkest of terms, there’s a degree of artistic license that is assumed. Gerard Way and the rest of My Chemical Romance didn’t get any unexpected wellness checks or the like after their repeated performances of “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).” Nor did Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr get charged with threatening a minor for the line “I’d rather see you dead, little girl / Than to be with another man” on the song “Run For Your Life.” Taylor Swift has written several songs about her exes and hasn’t been dragged to court over aired laundry. And yet, Zohran Mamdani risks being denaturalized over rap lyrics from nearly a decade ago. If only Young Cardamom was a Country act.
After getting musically beaten, curbstomped, and victory lapped by Kendrick Lamar, Aubrey Graham is leaning on legal in a last ditch effort to fake influence and win a rap battle. Drake has pointed the blame at Universal Music Group, Spotify, miscellaneous YouTube streamers — hell, everyone but Kendrick Lamar — arguing that the rap battle tipped over into defamation when Lamar accused Drake of being a pedophile. In what is the legal equivalent of responding “boo hoo,” UMG is moving to dismiss the suit. Law360 has coverage:
Universal Music Group on Monday urged a New York federal judge to dismiss a defamation suit from hip-hop star Drake against the record label over the hit dis track “Not Like Us” by his rival Kendrick Lamar, casting Lamar’s lyrics as opinion and hyperbole.
…
At a hearing Monday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an attorney for UMG, Rollin Ransom of Sidley Austin LLP, argued that the context surrounding Lamar’s statements is key, because contextual analysis often determines whether statements are asserted as fact or opinion.“What you hear in these rap battles is trash talking to the extreme, and should not be treated as statements of fact,” Ransom said.
Part of the dispute hinges on Kendrick using the phrase “certified pedophiles” in the song “Not Like Us.” The judge showed some concern that the qualifier certified could be read as Kendrick saying that Drake was officially proven to be a pedophile. Ransom responded that an ordinary listener should have enough context to listen to the song and not read the certified bit as a foregone legal conclusion. I think that he’s right. Drake has referred to himself as a “certified lover boy”– he dropped an album with the same name in 2021 — it just seems like Kendrick was flipping the word certified. Rappers do lyric flips all the time. What’s next, holding a rapper civilly liable for a double entendre?
The judge has yet to rule on the case. Would be nice if this case was wrapped up so we could all listen to the new Clipse album without worrying that it, too, will become evidence in a Drake lawsuit.
UMG Says Drake Insults Are Just Trash Talk, Not Defamation [Law360]
Earlier: Drake’s Attempt To Parlay Rap Battle Loss Into Courtroom Success Results In Another Loss
I Don’t Think People Understand How Silly It Is To Use Song Lyrics As Evidence
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
The post Universal Music Group Pushes To Dismiss Drake’s Desperate Attempt To Save Face From Lyrical Beatdown appeared first on Above the Law.
