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iHeartMedia says legal dispute with Drake was settled because it 'did nothing wrong'

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas-based iHeartMedia said it settled its legal dispute with Drake over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” after demonstrating that it “did nothing wrong.
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FILE - In this combination of images Rapper Kendrick Lamar appears at the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 27, 2017, in Inglewood, Calif., left, and Canadian rapper Drake appears at the premiere of the series "Euphoria," in Los Angeles on June 4, 2019. (AP Photos/Chris Pizzello, File)

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas-based iHeartMedia said it with Drake over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” after demonstrating that it “did nothing wrong.”

Drake had alleged in that iHeartMedia received illegal payments from Universal Music Group to boost radio airplay for “Not Like Us.” UMG is the parent record label for both

San Antonio-based iHeartMedia initially declined to comment on the settlement that was revealed last week in court documents. The media company released an updated statement Saturday.

“In exchange for documents that showed iHeart did nothing wrong, Drake agreed to drop his petition. No payments were made -- by either one of us,” the statement said.

In a court document filed Thursday in Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, attorneys for Drake said the rapper and iHeartMedia had “reached an amicable resolution of the dispute” but did not offer any other information.

A hearing on a motion by UMG’s lawyers to dismiss Drake's petition had been set for Wednesday but was changed to March 24, according to court records filed this week.

Drake’s petition in Texas also alleges UMG knew “the song itself, as well as its accompanying album art and music video, attacked the character of another one of UMG’s most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.”

Besides the legal petition in Texas, Drake in January in federal court in New York City against over what he alleges are false allegations of pedophilia made in “Not Like Us.” Lamar is not named in the lawsuit.

On Tuesday, a judge overseeing the defamation lawsuit rejected a request from UMG to delay a pretrial hearing and put a pause on discovery, which is the exchange of evidence between the two sides. UMG had sought the delay until a judge could hear its request to dismiss the case.

Drake’s lawyers said in a statement that they were “pleased with the Court’s decision to reject UMG’s continued attempts to stall discovery — another clear sign that UMG cannot run from or bury the truth.”

UMG’s lawyers did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The feud between Drake, a 38-year-old Canadian rapper and singer and five-time Grammy winner, and Lamar, a 37-year-old who headlined the show on Feb. 9, is among the biggest in hip-hop in recent years.

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The story has been updated to correct that iHeartMedia’s revised statement was released on Saturday instead of Monday.

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Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Juan A. Lozano, The Associated Press