- LOS ANGELES — Rapper Drake has a weeks-long trial set against Universal Music
Group following the release of Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning diss track. In
court documents, the 38-year-old Canadian rapper’s legal defense states that
"settlement discussions have not taken place".
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- As per the filing, the case is expected to be tried before a
jury and is estimated to last for three weeks in New York, reports 'People'
magazine.
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- The ongoing conflict began when Lamar, 37, released 'Not
Like Us' in May 2024, as the two artists were engaged in a public feud. Lamar’s
single refers to Drake as a “certified pedophile” who should be “placed on
neighborhood watch".
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- As per 'People', Kendrick Lamar also performed the hit at
the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show in February.
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- Although the word “pedophile” was omitted from his televised
performance, Lamar smiled as he looked at the camera when he delivered the
line, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young".
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- This year’s big game was seen by an estimated 127.7 million
people, making it the largest Super Bowl audience in TV history, according to
research by Nielsen.
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- In a previous filing obtained by 'People', Drake’s attorneys
refuted UMG’s claims that Lamar’s lyrics were his opinion and alleged that “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".
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- “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 (and
the harm they were causing), and after UMG knew that the public believed the
allegations to be true statements of fact”, the filing claimed.
