Drake and Universal Music Group (UMG) are heading back to court in their ongoing legal battle over Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us,” with an appellate hearing now scheduled for December.
According to a report by Billboard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has set December 4 for oral arguments in Drake’s appeal of a federal judge’s decision to dismiss his lawsuit against UMG.
Drake filed the lawsuit in January 2025, accusing UMG — his longtime label — of defamation over the release and promotion of “Not Like Us,” which includes allegations about the rapper that Drake says are false and damaging. Kendrick Lamar was not named as a defendant in the case.
Released in May 2024 during the highly publicized rap feud between Drake and Lamar, “Not Like Us” quickly became a global hit. The track went on to win five Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and was later featured prominently during Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
A federal judge dismissed Drake’s lawsuit after finding that the lyrics were protected as the type of exaggerated and hyperbolic language commonly associated with diss tracks. The ruling also concluded that listeners did not reasonably understand Lamar’s lyrics as literal statements of fact.
Drake’s legal team has challenged that conclusion on appeal, arguing that millions of listeners interpreted the song’s accusations as factual and that the track caused significant reputational harm to the Toronto rapper.
UMG, meanwhile, has argued that Drake’s lawsuit threatens to interfere with the creative expression traditionally associated with hip-hop and amounts to an attempt to use the courts to settle the fallout from a rap battle.
The case is now fully briefed, setting the stage for the December 4 hearing before a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit.
Following oral arguments, the appellate court will consider the parties’ positions before issuing its ruling. The losing side could potentially seek further review from the U.S. Supreme Court.
For now, the December hearing represents the next major chapter in one of the music industry’s most closely watched legal disputes stemming from the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud.
