Drake‘s “Not Like Us” defamation lawsuit against his own record label, UMG, has been called “dangerous” by a gathering of legal experts.
Four legal scholars have warned the courts about siding with the Canadian rapper in his ongoing legal action against the music giant.
The scholars directly warned of “the harms that arise when courts treat rap lyrics confessions or factual representations.”
They also cited that taking rap lyrics as literal statements “opens the door to racial bias and stereotypes into the courtroom”.
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If Drake succeeds in his action against UMG, they claim that it will be a threat to free speech and that fictional narratives are a common occurrence in Hip Hop.
The letter cited examples including 50 Cent, JAY-Z, Nas and 2Pac.
The brief directly cited 50 Cent’s explanation for writing “High All The Time” despite living a sober lifestyle.
Neither Drake nor UMG have responded to the legal letter.
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UMG recently blasted Drake as a hypocrite for suing over things Kendrick Lamar rapped in “Not Like Us”.
Drizzy recently amended his lawsuit against his own record label to update it with what he claims is more recent evidence that support his claims of being defamed, specifically citing Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Super Bowl.
In a new filing, UMG have motioned to dismiss the amended lawsuit, addressing the Canadian rapper’s new claims.
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The filing criticizes Drake’s claim that Lamar’s Super Bowl performance is evidence of defamation: “As Drake concedes, Lamar’s Super Bowl performance did not include the lyric that Drake or his associates are ‘certified pedophiles’ (i.e., the alleged ‘Defamatory Material’ that is at the heart of this case).
“The focus of Drake’s new claims—that ‘the largest audience for a Super Bowl halftime show ever’ did not hear Lamar call Drake or his crew pedophiles—betrays this case for what it is: Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar’s lyrics.”
A statement from UMG also blasts Drake as a hypocrite given his own songs contained claims about Lamar.
The statement reads: “Nowhere in the hundred-plus page ‘legal’ blather written by Drake’s lawyers do they bother to acknowledge that Drake himself has written and performed massively successful songs containing equally provocative taunts against other artists. Nor do they mention that it was Drake who started this particular exchange.”
