Drake drops lawsuit against Kendrick Lamar Not Like Us

Drake has dropped a lawsuit against Universal Music and Spotify, in which he accused the companies of conspiring to boost streams of Kendrick Lamar's song, Not Like Us, against him.

Canadian star Action was taken last NovemberAlleging that music companies used bots, Payola and other methods to promote Lamar's song, which accused him of pedophilia.

“Not Like Us's record-breaking spread in streaming, sales and radio play was intentional and appears to have relied on erratic and inappropriate business practices,” the court documents claimed.

However, on Tuesday, Drake's attorneys voluntarily withdrew the pretrial filing, effectively ending the case.

According to court documents filed in New York, the star met with representatives of Spotify and Universal on Tuesday to discuss the case.

Spotify, which had filed an objection, had no objection to the withdrawal and discontinuation. Universal, which did not file an objection, maintained its position.

Related issuefiled against Universal and the iHeartRadio radio network in Texas, remains active.

“Not Like Us” was widely viewed as the decisive blow in a long-running feud between Drake and Lamar, which dates back to early 2010.

In the lyrics, Lamar claims that Drake “likes 'em young” and accuses him of using other, more credible rappers to boost his profile.

About 24 hours later, Drake responded with a song called The Heart Part 6, in which he rejected the allegations, saying, “I've never been with anyone underage.” He also claimed that he provided Lamar “false” information through a double agent.

However, his response failed to attract the same attention as “Not Like Us,” which debuted at No. 1 on the US chart and has attracted more than 1 billion streams on Spotify.

Drake, who filed suit in court, accused Universal – which distributes his and Lamar's music – of artificially increasing the song's numbers.

In court documents, he claimed the company licensed the song “at significantly discounted prices to Spotify” and used bots to stream the song, creating “the false impression that the song was more popular than it actually was.”

The papers were not a lawsuit, but rather an “interlocutory petition,” where Drake's lawyers sought access to internal documents at Spotify and Universal that might have supported their case.

In a statement at the time, Universal told the BBC: “To suggest that (the company) would do anything to undermine any of its artists is insulting and untrue.

“We use the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and ridiculous legal arguments in this pre-submission can hide the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Spotify also responded that “there is no economic incentive for users to stream Not Like Us on any of Drake's tracks.”

The Swedish broadcasting company later filed a note of opposition to Drake's petition, saying it “should be denied.”

Music industry experts were skeptical that the charges would reach trial.

Some suggested that Drake was using the court to leverage Universal for information that might allow him to file a lawsuit for breach of contract and get out of his deal.

But entertainment attorney Kevin Cassini said the proposed legal action could do more harm to Drake's reputation than good.

Media coverage “only serves to draw more attention to lyrics that Drake finds offensive or objectionable.” He told Rolling Stone magazine.

“And I think the streaming numbers for the song will go up again.”