Drake's lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the release and promotion of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" is officially moving forward to trial, with no sign of a settlement, according to newly filed court documents.
In filings obtained Wednesday by PEOPLE, attorneys for the 38-year-old rapper said, "settlement discussions have not taken place." The case, linked to Lamar's Grammy-winning diss track, is set to go to trial with a jury in New York and could last as long as three weeks.
Lawsuit Escalates Following 'Not Like Us' Release
The beef in question dates back to Lamar's release of "Not Like Us" back in May 2024, in which the 37-year-old Compton rapper seemingly targeted Drake amid their public feud. Lamar referred to Drake as a "certified pedophile," and implied he should be "placed on neighborhood watch."
Lamar cut the line "pedophile" from his Super Bowl halftime show performance in February but kept a more pointed line — "Say, Drake, I heard you like 'em young" — and smirked directly at the camera. According to Nielsen, this year's broadcast averaged an all-time high of 127.7 million viewers.
Drake's legal team has alleged that the lyrics from the song are more than just artistic opinion and claimed to use the words as a statement of fact, which he actually would have never done.
"UMG completely ignores the Complaint's allegations that millions of people, all over the world, did understand [the song] as a factual assertion that [Drake] is a pedophile."
The rapper's legal team also slammed Universal for irresponsibly promoting the track, even after a series of personal insults and threats against Drake. The filing stated, "UMG brazenly continued to publish and promote the [song] even after [Drake's] home was attacked by a gunman, after his businesses were defaced, after [Drake] made UMG aware of the falsity of the allegations."
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