Drake is not backing down from his defamation claims against Universal Music Group.
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The Canadian rapper has filed an appeal in his case against UMG and its promotion of Kendrick Lamar's highly praised diss track, “Not Like Us.”
Representatives for Drake filed the motion Wednesday morning (Oct. 29), writing that the rapper has appealed the District Court's opinion and order from earlier this month, reports Variation. As for the arguments of his legal team on the basis of the appeal, they are expected to be made at a later date.
“This confirms our intention to appeal, and we look forward to the Court of Appeal reviewing that submission in the coming weeks,” a representative for Drake said in a statement. Variation.
As previously reportedUS District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled earlier this month that the lyrics to Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us” are expressions of opinion rather than fact.
“A reasonable listener could not conclude that 'Not Like Us' conveyed objective facts about Drake,” she ruled.
Aubrey's legal battle included more than just the alleged defamation of UMG, with his team demanding internal documents related to allegations of domestic violence against Lamar and investigating the nature of Dave Free's relationship with Lamar's children. Drake's lawyers sought “All documents and communications … relating to allegations of domestic violence … committed by Kendrick Lamar” in those filings, and also requested material about “David Isaac Friley (a/k/a Dave Free) and his relationship with Kendrick Lamar and Kendrick Lamar's children.”
The Toronto native also accused UMG of orchestrating a “financial conspiracy” by promoting Lamar's music at the expense of his brand, making secret payments and reducing licensing offers to third parties to suppress Drake's value during contract talks. His team was demanded by UMG to produce redacted versions of Lamar's record contract (claiming it was unfairly censored), and documentation showing prior label censorship (referring to Pusha T's “Story of Adidon”) as precedent.
However, in her ruling, Judge Vargas refused to treat rap battle lyrics as binding facts, stressing that diss tracks inherently use hyperbolic, provocative language.
“The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of thoughtful or disinterested research,” Judge Vargas wrote, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She added that the “rhetorical style, tone and context, replete with profanity and rhetorical flourishes, clearly mark the song as expressing opinion rather than factual assertion.”
