Drake, who filed pre-action motions against Universal Music Group, Spotify, and iHeartRadio in November, will soon head to court for legal proceedings against the music platforms.

After accusing the aforementioned music companies of conspiring to inflate the streaming numbers of Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping Kendrick Lamar single "Not Like Us," the dates for Drake's first court appearance have been announced. The New York Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Drake's lawsuit against UMG and Spotify on January 16, 2025, according to court documents obtained by XXL on Friday, December 6.

Drizzy claims in the lawsuit that the two entities used payola and bots to falsely increase streams of the ‘GNX’ rapper's hit song, in violation of New York's Deceptive Business Act, the New York False Advertising Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. 

“UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices,” the documents read. “It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves.”

The hearing for the second pre-action petition, which was filed in Texas against UMG and iHeartRadio, is scheduled for December 19. In his filing, the 5-time Grammy winner accused UMG of defamation due to the release of "Not Like Us," in which Kendrick accused him of being a child predator. Drake also claims that UMG and iHeart were involved in a pay-for-play scheme around "Not Like Us," which became the longest-running number-one song on the Hot Rap Songs chart, surpassing Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road.”

Just hours after Drake accused UMG of illegal streaming practices, the corporation denied the claims. “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,” the company wrote.

Giving his input on the matter during a live Art Basel chat with MSNBC journalist Ari Melber on Saturday, December 7, was Pusha T, who’s has bad blood with Drake for roughly 13 years. 

“I think that Kendrick is a lyricist and a lyricist that talks to your soul. Like, you could be clever, you can say cute things, you can do things and cadences and so on and so forth, right? But the truth really hurts and the truth cuts deep,” he said in the video below. “And I think what Kendrick was doing was really talking to his soul. I believe that.”

He continued, “And I believe that will cause you to tap out, that’ll cause you to sue, that’ll cause you to do a lot of things. It’s crazy.”