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A court official has rejected Drake's legal claim targeting the music corporation over Kendrick Lamar's track Not Like Us.

Presiding Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that the rapper’s lyrics, which accused Drake and his crew of being "pedophiles", were "protected opinion" and cannot be deemed libelous.

The Canadian rapper filed the lawsuit in early this year, claiming Universal Music Group, the music company representing both artists, of defamation by permitting the track to be released and marketed, saying it disseminated a "untrue and harmful story".

The artist’s representative said he planned to challenge the ruling. UMG expressed it was satisfied with the result and was eager to continuing its collaboration with the rapper.

Background of the Hip-Hop Feud

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

It has emerged as the biggest hit of Lamar's career, having won multiple Grammy awards and being one of the most-discussed moments of his Super Bowl performance in early 2025.

In a detailed ruling, the judge called the row between the artists "the most notorious hip-hop feud in the genre's history".

"The artists' seven-track rap battle was a 'verbal conflict' that was the focus of extensive press coverage and online discourse," the court wrote.

"While the accusation that plaintiff is a child predator is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a intense musical rivalry, with incendiary language and insulting claims exchanged by each artist, would not lead the reasonable listener to believe that 'the track' conveys verifiable facts about plaintiff."

She also noted that, in an previous track, Drake had "dared Lamar to make the pedophile claims" that featured in Not Like Us.

On the track his own release, the rapper used the synthetic vocals of the late rapper to give Lamar advice on how to prevail in the feud.

"Suggest he has a preference for minors, consider that a tip," the track proposed.

"Against this backdrop in which such lines as 'Hey Drake, I’ve heard you prefer them young' must be evaluated," wrote the court.

"The similarity in the wording strongly indicates that this lyric is a direct callback to the artist’s own words in the prior song."

'An Affront to Artists'

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

His legal team alleged the label of initiating "an effort to generate a viral hit" out of a release that made the "untrue claim that Drake is a criminal paedophile, and to imply that the audience 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 vulgar language, trash-talking, violent implications, and figurative and hyperbolic language."

She highlighted that the rapper himself had used similar language, referencing a line in which the star "strongly" implied that "his opponent is a domestic abuser", and another where he "raps that he 'heard' that one of his rival’s children may not be biologically his."

Concerning the track in question, the court said: "Although apparent statements of fact may assume the character of subjective views... when made in open discourse, intense arguments, or similar situations in which an listener may anticipate the use of epithets, passionate language or exaggeration."

Responding to the rejection, a label spokesperson said: "From the beginning, this lawsuit was an affront to every creative and their creative expression and should not have seen the light of day."

"We're pleased with the judge’s ruling and look forward to resuming our work effectively marketing Drake's music and investing in his career," the representative continued.

A spokesperson for Drake said the rapper planned to contest the decision, "and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing it".

Kendrick Lamar has not yet issue a statement on the case.