Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” can be said to have become a classic diss record in history. Not just because of Kendrick’s speech, but because it’s fairly rare for a song to receive so much attention, something that will inevitably be amplified by ongoing litigation.
As Drake continues to seek “justice,” he inadvertently extends the life of the diss record being leveled against him. Just recently, the rapper got a response from Universal Music Group in his “Not Like Us” defamation lawsuit, which was dismissed earlier. However, Drake chose to appeal the decision and has now invited more answers from Universal Music Group.
It’s safe to say that UMG isn’t beating around the bush. In their latest response to Drake’s legal pursuit, the label essentially suggested that Drake was disingenuous by first using the UMG platform to target Kendrick and then later backtracking and changing the rules. The following is an excerpt from UMG’s submission:
“While Drake has used UMG’s platform to attack Lamar in similarly inflammatory terms, he now claims that UMG defamed him by releasing the recording, that the song violated New York criminal law, and that UMG’s promotion of it violated New York’s General Business Law (GBL),” the filing reads.
“[Drake] Attempting to take words out of context and treat them as actionable libel if anyone anywhere could possibly regard them as fact would constitute actionable defamation,” it continued. “This is not the law and Drake’s view would seriously undermine a highly creative art form built on exaggeration, insults and puns. Drake’s Criminal Code and UK Basic Law arguments are no better. This court should uphold the dismissal.”
It doesn’t look like this tirade is going to end anytime soon. What do you think?
