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Drake Is Suing His Label Over ‘Not Like Us.’ Does He Have a Chance?

Drake is suing his own label for defamation over Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us.' Experts doubt his chances but some see a possible path.

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,” lawyers for UMG wrote in a scathing dismissal motion filed last month. And he’s willing to take an entire genre down with him because he lost,” University of Richmond Professor Erik Nielson, co-author of the book Rap on Trial about the use of hip-hop lyrics as criminal evidence, says. Record producer Armen Boladian previously sued funk legend George Clinton over lyrics that branded Boladian a “disgrace to the species.” In a 2005 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit tossed the case for good, calling the verse a “puerile taunt that, for better or worse, is typical in rap music.” Lindsay Lohan later sued Pitbull over his 2011 song “Give Me Everything.” A federal court sided with Pitbull, saying “the Supreme Court has made clear that music, as a form of expression and communication, is protected under the First Amendment.” One of the most famous cases in this area involved Eminem being sued by former classmate DeAngelo Bailey over the 1999 song “Brain Damage,” which depicted Bailey as a violent bully.

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