{"id":125084,"date":"2025-07-01T16:02:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/01\/universal-music-group-pushes-to-dismiss-drakes-desperate-attempt-to-save-face-from-lyrical-beatdown\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T16:02:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:02:53","slug":"universal-music-group-pushes-to-dismiss-drakes-desperate-attempt-to-save-face-from-lyrical-beatdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/01\/universal-music-group-pushes-to-dismiss-drakes-desperate-attempt-to-save-face-from-lyrical-beatdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Music Group Pushes To Dismiss Drake\u2019s Desperate Attempt To Save Face From Lyrical Beatdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s a degree of artistic license that is assumed. Gerard Way and the rest of My Chemical Romance didn\u2019t get any unexpected wellness checks or the like after their repeated performances of \u201cI\u2019m Not Okay (I Promise)<\/a>.\u201d Nor did Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr get charged with threatening a minor for the line \u201cI\u2019d rather see you dead, little girl \/ Than to be with another man<\/a>\u201d on the song \u201cRun For Your Life.\u201d Taylor Swift has written several songs about her exes and hasn\u2019t been dragged to court over aired laundry. And yet, Zohran Mamdani risks being denaturalized over rap lyrics from nearly a decade ago<\/a>. If only Young Cardamom was a Country act.<\/p>\n

After getting musically beaten<\/a>, curbstomped<\/a>, and victory lapped<\/a> 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 \u2014 hell, everyone but<\/em> Kendrick Lamar \u2014 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 \u201cboo hoo,\u201d UMG is moving to dismiss the suit. Law360<\/a> has coverage:<\/p>\n

\n

Universal Music Group\u00a0on 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 \u201cNot Like Us\u201d by his rival Kendrick Lamar, casting Lamar\u2019s lyrics as opinion and hyperbole.
\u2026
At a hearing Monday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an attorney for UMG, Rollin Ransom of\u00a0Sidley Austin LLP, argued that the context surrounding Lamar\u2019s statements is key, because contextual analysis often determines whether statements are asserted as fact or opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you hear in these rap battles is trash talking to the extreme, and should not be treated as statements of fact,\u201d Ransom said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Part of the dispute hinges on Kendrick using the phrase \u201ccertified pedophiles\u201d in the song \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d 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\u2019s right. Drake has referred to himself as a \u201ccertified lover boy\u201d\u2013 he dropped an album with the same name in 2021 \u2014 it just seems like Kendrick was flipping the word certified. Rappers do lyric flips all the time<\/a>. What\u2019s next, holding a rapper civilly liable for a double entendre?<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UMG Says Drake Insults Are Just Trash Talk, Not Defamation<\/a> [Law360]<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Drake\u2019s Attempt To Parlay Rap Battle Loss Into Courtroom Success Results In Another Loss<\/a><\/p>\n

I Don\u2019t Think People Understand How Silly It Is To Use Song Lyrics As Evidence<\/a><\/p>\n

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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\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He 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,\u00a0is 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\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com <\/a>and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Universal Music Group Pushes To Dismiss Drake\u2019s Desperate Attempt To Save Face From Lyrical Beatdown<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s a degree of artistic license that is assumed. Gerard Way and the rest of My Chemical Romance didn\u2019t get any unexpected wellness checks or the like after their repeated performances of \u201cI\u2019m Not Okay (I Promise)<\/a>.\u201d Nor did Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr get charged with threatening a minor for the line \u201cI\u2019d rather see you dead, little girl \/ Than to be with another man<\/a>\u201d on the song \u201cRun For Your Life.\u201d Taylor Swift has written several songs about her exes and hasn\u2019t been dragged to court over aired laundry. And yet, Zohran Mamdani risks being denaturalized over rap lyrics from nearly a decade ago<\/a>. If only Young Cardamom was a Country act.<\/p>\n

After getting musically beaten<\/a>, curbstomped<\/a>, and victory lapped<\/a> 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 \u2014 hell, everyone but<\/em> Kendrick Lamar \u2014 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 \u201cboo hoo,\u201d UMG is moving to dismiss the suit. Law360<\/a> has coverage:<\/p>\n

\n

Universal Music Group\u00a0on 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 \u201cNot Like Us\u201d by his rival Kendrick Lamar, casting Lamar\u2019s lyrics as opinion and hyperbole.
\u2026
At a hearing Monday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an attorney for UMG, Rollin Ransom of\u00a0Sidley Austin LLP, argued that the context surrounding Lamar\u2019s statements is key, because contextual analysis often determines whether statements are asserted as fact or opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you hear in these rap battles is trash talking to the extreme, and should not be treated as statements of fact,\u201d Ransom said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Part of the dispute hinges on Kendrick using the phrase \u201ccertified pedophiles\u201d in the song \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d 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\u2019s right. Drake has referred to himself as a \u201ccertified lover boy\u201d\u2013 he dropped an album with the same name in 2021 \u2014 it just seems like Kendrick was flipping the word certified. Rappers do lyric flips all the time<\/a>. What\u2019s next, holding a rapper civilly liable for a double entendre?<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UMG Says Drake Insults Are Just Trash Talk, Not Defamation<\/a> [Law360]<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Drake\u2019s Attempt To Parlay Rap Battle Loss Into Courtroom Success Results In Another Loss<\/a><\/p>\n

I Don\u2019t Think People Understand How Silly It Is To Use Song Lyrics As Evidence<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He 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,\u00a0is 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\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com <\/a>and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Universal Music Group Pushes To Dismiss Drake\u2019s Desperate Attempt To Save Face From Lyrical Beatdown<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s a degree of artistic license that is assumed. Gerard Way and the rest of My Chemical Romance didn\u2019t get any unexpected wellness checks or the like after their repeated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":125085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Chris-Williams-2025-NegMw7.jpeg?fit=512%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}