08/26/2025
A judge has agreed to seal a redacted version of Kendrick Lamar's contract in Drake's defamation lawsuit against UMG over K-Dot's "Not Like Us."
On Aug. 22, Judge Jeanette Vargas issued a ruling on both sides' petition to keep Kendrick's contract out of the public eye. "Plaintiff and UMG’s request for permission to file under seal a contract between UMG Recordings, Inc. and Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, as produced by UMG in redacted form with the designation Attorney’s Eyes Only (the “Lamar Contract”), is GRANTED," the court filing reads. "The Court therefore finds that, in this instance, the interest in protecting confidential business information outweighs the qualified First Amendment presumption of public access.”
After Drake's lawyers got approval from Judge Vargas to review Kendrick Lamar's contract back in April, UMG turned over a copy of the agreement on June 24. However, the document was heavily redacted.
Drake's legal team fired back and demanded the full document. "The redactions are plainly improper, especially because the parties specifically agreed to treat these types of contracts as Attorneys' Eyes Only under terms of the protective order," Drake's lawyers responded in August.
They are still seeking access to the full contract as part of discovery for the case. Judge Vargas has yet to rule on whether that will happen.
XXL has reached out to Drake's legal team for comment.
See the latest court documents in the Drake v. UMG case in the comments below. ⬇️