Drake drops legal action over Kendrick Lamar\s Not Like Us

Kendrick Lamars Not Like Us has been nominated for four Grammy Awards

The papers were not a lawsuit, but a pre-action petition, in which Drakes lawyers sought to gain access to internal documents at Spotify and Universal which might have supported their case.

In a statement at the time, Universal told the BBC: The suggestion that [the company] would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue.

We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.

Spotify also responded that there was no economic incentive for users to stream Not Like Us over any of Drakes tracks.

The Swedish streaming company later filed an opposition brief to Drakes petition, stating that it should be denied.

Music industry experts had been sceptical that the accusations would ever reach trial.

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

But entertainment lawyer Kevin Casini said the proposed legal action could do Drakes reputation more harm than good.

The media coverage really only serves to bring more attention to the lyrics that Drake finds offensive or objectionable, he told Rolling Stone magazine.

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