At this point, I wonder if there’s anybody who isn’t aware of the long-since-decided feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. What started in March 2024, when Future and Metro Boomin released an album featuring the eventual Billboard chart-topping single, “Like That,” morphed into a back-and-forth that took over the summer of 2024, culminating with Kendrick Lamar’s now legacy record, “Not Like Us,” that as of this writing in March 2025 and after 44 weeks, is still a top 5 Billboard Hot 100 single in the country.
You know this. I know this. Your auntie and grandmother know this because we all saw Kendrick Lamar perform at the Super Bowl in February. It’s been a banner year for Kendrick. For Drake, not so much. He lost the battle, but he did go on tour in Australia and drop an album with OVO artist PartyNextDoor that hit the charts. Their current single, “Nokia,” is doing well on the charts.
But then there’s the big “he did what?!?!” of November 2024, where Drake filed several legal actions against Kendrick’s label, Universal Music Group (UMG) and iHeart Media, alleging that they both used backdoor methods to inflate the popularity of “Not Like Us”—to Drake’s camp, sure the record is a bop, but there’s no way it was THAT popular. Drake is also claiming defamation and a litany of other things, a surprising move in a rap battle; diss records often employ the most vicious and incendiary statements and lyrics in an attempt to topple a foe. Drake knows this; he’s been in plenty of rap battles.
Earlier this month, Drake and iHeartMedia settled their legal dispute, with iHeartMedia stating, for the record, that the matter was put to bed because they did nothing wrong. UMG likely feels the same way, but it has taken to a more pointed and hip-hop-centric manner in its motion to dismiss.
According to Variety, in their motion to dismiss, UMG took a more direct, biting approach to speaking their truth, saying Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated.” The label continued, “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. Plaintiff’s Complaint is utterly without merit and should be dismissed with prejudice.”
Ouch.
For those who might need a translation—it’s OK—their statement essentially says, “Drake started this, Kendrick finished it, and instead of being the guy who’s too big for all of this as his music implies, he’s decided to sue because his feelings are hurt.”
That this is all playing out very publicly does absolutely nothing for Drake’s top guy in hip-hop narrative; in many circles, the worst thing that you can do as a rapper is file a lawsuit because you lost a battle.
UMG is also alleging that Drake is a hypocrite. In 2022, many artists signed a letter titled “Art on Trial: Protect Black Art,” criticizing the use of rappers’ lyrics against them in court. Drake was one of the signees. Drake is suing UMG for defamation, as well; UMG argues that Kendrick’s lyrics are, essentially, an artist doing artist things, and do not meet the legal bar for defamation.
In response to the request for dismissal, Drake’s attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb shared with Variety:
“UMG wants to pretend that this is about a rap battle in order to distract its shareholders, artists and the public from a simple truth: a greedy company is finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation that has already resulted in multiple acts of violence. This motion is a desperate ploy by UMG to avoid accountability, but we have every confidence that this case will proceed and continue to uncover UMG’s long history of endangering, abusing and taking advantage of its artists.”
Whether it’s God’s plan or not, it looks like Drake isn’t backing down, and he and his camp are ready to…squabble up.