Drakes record label files motion to dismiss Not Like Us lawsuit NBC Connecticut [Video]

Universal Music Group filed a motion to dismiss Drake’s defamation lawsuit against it, arguing that the Canadian rapper’s claims are “no more than Drake’s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle” with Kendrick Lamar. 

Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated,” UMG stated in a court filing Monday. “Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”

Both Drake and Lamar are signed to UMG, under different divisions. (UMG has no relationship to NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.) 

The filing comes after a yearlong prolific diss track battlebetween Drake and Lamar, who spent much of 2024 dropping a slew of tracks aimed at each other. But many fans declared Lamar as the winner of the feud, with “Not Like Us” becoming the bestselling rap recording of 2024. …