Here's Why Drake Doesn't Want "Taylor Made" Context Considered In Court

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Hey yo, what up? Welcome back. This is not a podcast. This is just my thoughts with Rob Markman. Now, two years ago in this time, we were in the midst of Kendrick Lamar versus Drake. All right, the most legendary battle that hip-hop has ever seen. And on this day, two years ago, Drake dropped the Tailor Made Freestyle. Now, I don't feel the need to revisit each one of these tracks two years later. We did it at the one-year anniversary in real time. We covered it.

[00:00:25]But Tailor Made today has some real significance. like right now has real significance and could be a key piece in Drake's appeal versus UMG. Drake's legal team is arguing that this freestyle should not be taken into account in the case because it wasn't Drake rapping.

[00:00:42]They're arguing that it was Tupac's voice. They're also arguing that it was only up for a week and they're saying that it wasn't as ubiquitous as Not Like Us, therefore, you know, should not be taken into consideration. That is a very simplified version of of of what all of this is.

[00:01:02]Um, but we're going to talk about it today and I'll explain it. All right.

[00:01:05]But first, of course, you know, look, I need y'all to to subscribe. I need y'all to like. I need y'all to comment. I need y'all to share. I need y'all to hype. I need y'all to put the alerts on. We trying to grow this channel. So, please subscribe. Come on. Let's get to it. So, as you know, after the battle, Drake filed a lawsuit against UMG for the promotion of Not Like Us. He claimed defamation because of the lines like um certified love boy, certified pedophile and say Drake, I heard you like I'm young, etc., etc., right? We know all this already. The judge dismissed the lawsuit. Okay, it didn't even go to trial. The lawsuit was dismissed. She ultimately cited that not like us could not be judged on its own. All right, she she argued that the context of of the back and forth in the battle has to be considered, right? like like not like us didn't just like drop out of nowhere and appear in a vacuum that you have to consider the context of the whole battle. Part of that context was the tailor made freestyle where Drake was rapping. You know, it's Drake's lyrics but using a Tupac AI generated voice and he said, "Call him a [ __ ] for me. Talk about him liking young girls. That's a gift from me. Heard it on the Budding podcast. It's got to be true. He told me the spirit of Maveli is alive and that's under five. So it's got to be you. Um right. So th those are the re relevant lyrics at least to this video. That same week after um Taylor made freestyle drop, Tupac estate sent a cease and desist on the track and Drake took it down. um that there are some fans and some pundits who insinuate that um Kendrick urged Pox team to to to take it down. We don't know. There's like there's no evidence of that. And and it's also like I don't know disingenuous to think that Pox team doesn't have a mind of his own.

[00:03:01]The estate doesn't have a mind of his own. heard his voice using being used in AI again in the biggest battle that hip hop has ever seen in the midst that it was going on. It said, "Hey, we don't like this. This is not how we want Tupac's likeness to be used. Please take it down." Right? Like, but regardless, right, that that that's a little bit of a of a side note, a side opinion, but regardless, the song went up and it wasn't on DSPs, it was on Drake's IG, um, spread across YouTube, spread all across kind of social media, but it was definitely part of the battle. We all heard it. It went up and Tupac estate sent to cease and desist and it came down. The judge ultimately ruled that not like us constitutes protected opinion rather than act actionable defamation. Right.

[00:03:49]Um finding that that the accusations could not reasonably be interpreted as factual given the context of what Judge Vargas called perhaps the most infamous rap battle in the genre's history. And and you know I think I think we we we all agree. But you know this this concept of well who is the reasonable listener? what is the reasonable listener and what do we expect them to understand? Again, that's a very simplified version, but I do have other videos on the judge's ruling that you could check out. I'll put it in the description if you want to go revisit that. So, the case was dismissed and Drake filed an appeal on Judge Vargas' decision in January in the second circuit of the US Court of Appeals.

[00:04:32]Right. So, the appeal was filed in March. UMG filed the 83page brief and it basically argues that Drake case fails because and this is a quote he seeks to strip words from their context and deem them actionable defamation. UMG is basically arguing that Drake goated Kendrick into a response in a number of instances including on tailor made right um again talk about him liking young girls that's a gift from me right so when talk about him liking young girls that's a gift for me that's that's Drake's written lyrics expressed through Tupac's voice talking to Kendrick Kendrick talk about him liking young girls that's a gift from me Okay. So, when Kendrick turns around or not like us and says, "Hey, Drake, I heard you like I'm young," it's a direct echoing of what Drake had invited him to say. This this is what UMG is arguing, right? Like again, this doesn't exist in in the vacuum. It's a direct correlation to Drake goating, you know, um pushing Kendrick to respond. UMG said way more in that 83 praise brief, but that's just the short of it. And again, the simplified version as it relates to Tailor Made. I I didn't cover the UMG brief and I didn't really cover um when when Drake's team dropped their response to that cuz it's a lot of the same, right? Like like I think the big news comes like like at this point you kind of know where UMG stands and you know where Drake stands and and and you kind of know what they're going to defend in this and and how they're going to defend it. Um I believe there's going to be a in-person hearing. We'll probably cover that like when significant things happen. But again, we're talking about it today because it is the 2-year anniversary of Tailor Made. And you know that there's a significant thing about Tailor Made that's being argued by Drake's camp. So Drake's team, you know, they have an interesting argument, right? Um let me let me actually pull this up on my phone.

[00:06:42]I I I'll read some of what what Drake's team is arguing, right?

[00:06:47]Um they say the error and and this is is in response to UMG's 83 page brief. It says the error is especially stark with respect to tailor made freestyle which was not mentioned in the amending complaint. Drake's team filed the amending complaint and they did not include tailor made freestyle in in in their complaint but UMG brought it up.

[00:07:15]Right. So the errors especially start with respect to tailor me freestyle which was not mentioned in the amended complaint only publicly available for one week and whose contested lyrics are not even in Drake's voice. So so they're arguing like the the lyrics aren't in Drake's voice. We heard it. It's in Tupac's voice.

[00:07:38]But it it it was Drake's creative decision. the assumption and and the assumption has always been and and if I'm wrong, I it'll be interesting to see if this comes out and and what Drake's team um says about it if challenged. But the assumption is that Drake wrote the lyrics and that the Pac voice, you know, then you ran those lyrics through AI and you got Pac's voice. But we we'll have to see who actually wrote the lyrics.

[00:08:08]The the my my assumption and my belief is that Drake wrote it. But so they're saying it was only available for one week and whose contested lyrics were not even in Drake's voice. Despite this, the court found that a reasonable listener would have understood the recordings pedophilia allegations as a call back to tailor made freestyle. A big thing about about Judge Vargas' ruling and and and the whole case in the beginning is well, how do you define reasonable listener, right? Uh you and I, me of course who who who am covering this, right? Y'all who who watch this channel, are y'all the reasonable listener or is like your grandmother Gertude the reasonable listener? Right. But the court found that a reasonable listener would have understood the recordings pedophilia allegations as a call back to Taylor May freestyle. If the reasonable listener is you and I, then the answer is yes. Like we understood that to be a call back to Taylor May freestyle. The reliance on materials outside of the pleadings deprive Drake of the opportunity to rebut this counterfactual assertion.

[00:09:16]So, you know, the reliance on materials outside of the pleading. So, so you know, Drake's team is basically saying, "Hey, we didn't put that in our complaint for a reason, and the fact that UMG is bringing it up deprivives Drake." Um, it says the recording's popularity and reach are unprecedented as the recording and videos were heard and viewed over nine billion times.

[00:09:36]They're talking about not like us. Not like us. It, you know, basically what they what they're kind of arguing is that not like us now is a victim of its own popularity.

[00:09:46]And what the court is saying is like, yeah, popularity aside though, it existed in the context of this very popular, well publicized battle.

[00:09:56]Um, it says, "In contrast, Tailor Made Freestyle was a far less popular song only available online for one week before it was removed so quickly that it limited listenership could not be determined. Given this, the reasonable listener of the recording is someone who never heard Tailor Made Freestyle and certainly not someone who, let me just go to the next one. Certainly not someone who was familiar with the history of rap diss tracks. Was familiar with the Drake Lamar feud. Knew all the prior songs. Believed them to be in dialogue. Would interpret the extraordinary popularity recording with reference to the far less pre pervasive tailor made freestyle. Would interpret tailor made freestyle as goating. Would see the recording as a response to the goating. and would for some still unexplained reason conclude that the recording not like us as the recording was asserting opinion not fact. Um, so you see at the crux of this, the whole thing is, well, who's the reasonable listener? Again, if if it's me, if it's y'all watching this channel, we understood all of this. We we und we knew all the prior songs. Um, we were familiar with the feud. We're familiar with the history of of rapping diss tracks. Um, we believed Drake and Kendrick to be in dialogue with one another while, you know, dropping the track. Um, and we would interpret Not Like Us with reference to to Taylor May Freestyle, even though Tailor May Freestyle was far less popular. Um, so again, they're kind of like, you know, is it you and I or is it like your grandmother Gertude, right?

[00:11:40]Like I I just made that name up. I don't know. UMG also asserts that Drake cannot provide an alternate explanation for the lyrics that it claims goed Lamar to make pedophilia allegations.

[00:11:52]The lyric is talk about him liking young girls that's a gift from me. Heard it on the button podcast is got to be true.

[00:11:58]But it was not Drake's burden at the motion to dismiss at the motion to dismiss stage to explain what was incorrect about the factual allegations UMG offered to rebut pleading pleaded facts. Regardless, UMG is wrong. Given the opportunity at summary judgment, Drake could have provided a ready alternate alternative before Tailor Made Freestyle was released. The Butin podcast criticized Drake for dating adult women whom the host deemed too young for Drake.

[00:12:31]And then they they they give a a call back to um a Joe Biden episode where he says, "Get the [ __ ] away from some of these younger n-words and stop [ __ ] with these 25 year olds. Why are you still [ __ ] 25 year olds? You're a 37y old billionaire."

[00:12:49]Um, UMG points to no case where a court used extra recorded material in the way the district court did and UMG fails to address the case where this court has reversed when the district court considered extern external material.

[00:13:05]Okay, I'm I'm going to stop here. Um, but yeah, so so you see what Drake's team is is is basically arguing. you know, they they don't they don't they don't want the court to read um the context of it all. You know what I'm saying? Like they don't want like like again us and and it goes down to who's this reasonable listener? Us, you and I followed this thing step by step and and and so what really is at the crux of this is who is the reasonable listener and what's what do they understand? Ultimately, it's up to the second circuit of the US Court of Appeals to decide. But um me, you know, look, man, I I I firmly believe that um if you're reading into the lyrics of Not Like Us, right? Like like like like if you're sitting there reading into the lyrics of Not Like Us, um hold on, my bad.

[00:14:07]Yeah. So if you're reading into lyrics and not like us like you can't decipher the meaning in a vacuum like like you just you just can't right the battle is happening in real time. Um we certainly can't like again on this channel you know where where where where I'm breaking things down like I I certainly can't just dismiss you you know what I'm saying what was going on in in real time. Um, and then y'all was there, the listeners, the fans, like we were there in real time. So, if if YouTube reactors, if journalists, um, you know, people people who have a responsibility to put things in context, right? Like I I I will feel weird doing these videos and not putting things at context. So, if we have the responsibility to do it and and not just us, right? like like USA Today reported on this and and and there were articles in in like major publications, right? So you got to put it in context. So So if we had the responsibility of putting this in context, surely when when it comes up in court, it has to be put in a context, right?

[00:15:22]Like like like it feels like the court can't dismiss the context. Um, and and sure if if you didn't know anything and you heard not like us playing out of somebody's car, you know what I'm saying?

[00:15:37]Sure, man. What is this? But the fact of the matter is that, you know, there there was enough reporting on it. There was enough this was enough of a thing where the information was out there.

[00:15:48]There's sites like Genius who has the annotations. Again, major publications were were reporting on this. Um, there's various YouTube videos and reactors and and stuff breaking this down like it didn't exist in the vacuum, but ultimately it's up for the court to decide. It'll be interesting to see what they decide here. And again, this was dismissed. So, this this means they didn't even go to trial. He could have went to trial and and and and lost, right? But, I mean, they're just arguing whether or not this had even had the right to be heard if this complaint held water. Judge Vargas decided no and dismissed the whole thing and now it's up to the court of appeals. So, it'll be interesting to see what they rule. Um me, you know, Judge Vargas' ruling made sense to me. The dismissal made sense to me based off of what she said. I'd like to see what the court of appeals decides. But, um this going to be a uh this is an uphill battle for for for for Drake and this team. Um we'll see what happens. um as this goes forward. But that's it, man.

[00:16:53]Just wanted to talk to y'all today. Um and you know, we'll be back to the next one. Let me know what you think in the comments. All right. Peace.