Drake has gained a small but notable procedural victory in his lawsuit against Universal Music Group over their release and promotion Kendrick Lamar‘s diss song “Not Like Us.”
Judge Jeanette Vargas ruled that a pre-trial hearing scheduled for April 2, which UMG had tried to delay, will take place. In addition, discovery in the case — where the parties exchange information — will begin, despite the corporation claiming that starting the process at this point was “premature” given the state of the case.
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UMG wanted to delay the hearing so that the judge can have time to consider Universal’s motion to dismiss the case entirely — a motion they have to file by March 17.
On Tuesday (March 4), Judge Vargas denied UMG’s request to delay the April 2 hearing, and ordered that if the music giant wanted to delay discovery, it would have to file a separate motion — one the judge would consider at that very hearing.
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Drake’s legal team responded to the ruling with a statement to HipHopDX: “We are pleased with the Court’s decision to reject UMG’s continued attempts to stall discovery—another clear sign that UMG can not run from or bury the truth. This ruling, along with our motion for discovery in Texas yesterday, together represent major steps forward in holding UMG accountable to shareholders and artists for their repeated and egregious actions.”
In a letter to Judge Vargas filed on February 24, Drake’s attorney Michael J. Gottlieb explained in detail why he wanted the discovery process to begin immediately — and he mentioned Kendrick’s Super Bowl halftime show in his argument.
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“[D]elaying discovery would unfairly prejudice [Drake], who is continuing to suffer the consequences of UMG’s defamatory campaign,” he wrote. “Indeed, at the same time UMG has been delaying here, UMG launched new campaigns to further spread the defamatory content [“Not Like Us”], including at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which had over 133.5 million viewers.”
Drizzy filed his complaint last month in New York federal court accusing the music giant — the parent company of his and Kendrick’s respective record labels — of defamation and harassment.
In the suit, which has been viewed by HipHopDX, the Toronto rap star condemns UMG for having “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.”
He repeats previous claims that the company used “unlawful” methods to turn “Not Like Us” into a global hit, including secretly paying for fake streams and radio play.
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UMG has denied Drake’s accusations.
