Slander or 'trash-talking'? Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud has a day in court

A federal judge is pondering the nature of rap battles and the cutting wordplay in Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," the diss track that spurred a defamation lawsuit from his fellow superstar Drake.

A federal judge is pondering the nature of rap battles and the cutting wordplay in Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," the megahit diss track that spurred a defamation lawsuit from his fellow superstar Drake.

Drake sued Universal Music Group — both his and Lamar's record label — over "Not Like Us," saying the company published and promoted a song he deems slanderous. Universal says the lyrics are just hyperbole in the tradition of rap beefing, and the label is trying to get the case dismissed.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas didn't immediately decide after a lively hearing in New York on Monday, when the raw creativity of hip-hop brushed up against the staid confines of federal court.

"Who is the ordinary listener? Is it someone who's going to catch all those references?" Vargas wondered aloud, addressing a legal standard that concerns how an average, reasonable person would understand a statement. "There's so much specialized and nuanced to these lyrics."

Neither artist attended the hearing.