Lawyers for the rapper Drake secured a partial victory in court Wednesday when a judge allowed the defamation lawsuit against his record label, Universal Music Group, to proceed with discovery.

Drake is ready to unearth Universal Music Group (UMG)’s secrets. In a pre-trial conference held on Wednesday (April 2) in New York, Judge Jeanette Vargas ruled in favor of the Canadian rapper, denying the label’s motion to stay discovery in his defamation lawsuit against Kendrick Lamar’s “ Not Like Us .”

Drake has scored a document-production win in his intensifying lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG). That victory arrived in the form of a ruling, handed down during a pre-trial conference this morning,

Drake got a victory in his legal battle over Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us": Universal Music Group, who he is suing for defamation over their release of the diss song, will now have to begin to turn over information related to the massive hit-including sensitive material like Kendrick's record deal.

Progress has been made for Drake in his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group. News of Drake being allowed to request Kendrick Lamar‘s contract and other documents in the “Not Like Us” lawsuit have surfaced.

Drake’s legal battle against UMG continues as the court dismissed the record company’s motion to stay discovery on April 2, 2025.

The potentially impactful decision came during a pretrial conference where Judge Jeanette Vargas denied Universal Music Group’s request to halt the discovery process. As we reported, this allows Drake’s attorneys to proceed with gathering evidence, including deposing company executives and reviewing internal records.

On Wednesday (April 2), Judge Jeanette Vargas ruled in favor of Drake’s legal team, beginning the discovery process in his lawsuit against UMG over his claims regarding Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” during a pre-trial conference in a New York courtroom.