Universal Music Group has filed a motion to dismiss Drake’s New York lawsuit against them for promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” According to variety.com, the motion states that he’s only suing because he “lost a rap battle” and took legal action to “salve his wounds.”
The motion was filed on Monday, March 17. It claims that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated. 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.”
The filing notes that Drake himself signed a public petition less than three years ago criticizing “the trend of prosecutors using artists’ creative expression against them” by interpreting rap lyrics as fact. “Drake was right then and is wrong now,” the motion read, according to variety.com “Complaint’s unjustified claims against UMG are no more than Drake’s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar.”