By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The superstar rapper Drake is appealing the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us,” according to a court filing on Wednesday.
Drake will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to overturn the October 9 dismissal by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas.
UMG releases Drake’s and Lamar’s music. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Drake’s appeal, but has said it was pleased with the dismissal.
Drake, whose given name is Aubrey Drake Graham, sued UMG in January over its promotion of “Not Like Us,” saying the song deceives listeners into believing the false accusation that he is a pedophile.
The lawsuit follows a decade-long feud in which Drake and Lamar released diss tracks said to target each other. Lamar is not a defendant.
In dismissing the case, Vargas said Lamar’s lyrics were not defamatory because they amounted to opinion.
“Although the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts,” Vargas wrote.
The appeals process could last at least several months.
“Not Like Us” won Grammy Awards in February for record and song of the year, and spent three weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100. Lamar performed it at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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