The Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle looks almost unrecognizable from how things kicked off almost a year ago now. Opinions shifted, folks crossed some lines, and both artists are getting a lot of love and hate right now for every small thing they do. But in court, UMG wants to take things back to the roots. They recently filed a motion to dismiss Drizzy's defamation lawsuit over "Not Like Us," claiming that his accusations of manipulation and purposeful artificial boosting do not have any merit. Not only that, but they also dismissed the notion that the West Coast banger is defamatory, calling to attention the historical, artistic, and cultural precedent set by diss tracks and the assumptions of hyperbole, opinion, and exaggerated insult that go into it.
Of course, many OVO fans have already spent countless hours explaining why this argument doesn't work, whereas those supporting UMG in this case continue to point out the lawsuit's inconsistencies. Now, it's up to a judge to determine whether or not this is even worth addressing or if Drake will have his day in court.
Drake & iHeartMedia
For those unaware, a key update in this defamation lawsuit is how Drake dropped his accusations against iHeartMedia. He specifically accused UMG of engaging in unlawful payola practices with the radio company, making covert payments to boost the airplay of "Not Like Us" and thus spread supposedly defamatory material. "In exchange for documents that showed iHeart did nothing wrong, Drake agreed to drop his petition. No payments were made – by either one of us," an iHeart representative told Rolling Stone. "Petitioner and iHeartMedia, Inc. have reached an amicable resolution of the dispute to the satisfaction of both sides," court documents read.
"We are pleased that the parties were able to reach a settlement satisfactory to both sides and have no further comment on this matter," Drake's team stated about this lawsuit update. Don't forget about the other petitions in New York and Texas requesting other discovery material for his arguments. Regardless of where you fall on this debate, it's clear that we will find out about an outcome relatively soon.
