Decision Announced in Jay‑Z Paternity Case Involving Rymir Satterthwaite, Who Claims the Rapper Is His Father

The verdict has been reached years after the claim first surfaced, including remarks from Rymir Satterhwaite insisting the rapper avoided taking a paternity test.

The paternity case involving rap mogul Jay-Z Carter and Rymir Satterthwaite has finally come to a conclusion, a decade after documents Satterthwaite had filed in 2014 became public (2015). The documents were re-filed after Satterthwaite's late mother's civil lawsuit against Carter was dismissed because it was filed in the wrong state.

Satterthwaite's mom's lawsuit sought child support from Carter, whom she claimed to have had an on/off relationship with. She was seeking such because she had told her son that the artist was his biological father when Satterthwaite was eight, a claim Carter, via his legal team and court documents, has repeatedly denied.

A Final Decision After Back-and-Forth Court Drama

As the case gradually resurfaced in the public eye, so too did Satterthwaite's determination to have his claim acknowledged in court, culminating in a federal paternity suit filed earlier this year (2025) through his legal guardian and paralegal, Lillie Coley.

In his filings, the over 30-year-old aspiring musician insisted the case wasn't about financial gain or retroactive child support. Instead, he claimed the motivation stemmed from emotional and reputational damage — years spent in what he described as a legal limbo, while the identity of his alleged father remained, to him, unresolved.

"This is not going to be over until justice is served," he told the Daily Mail in 2023. "I just want to live my life and, when it is all said and done, I hope that Jay-Z would want to be a part of my life, if that is God's will. I won't stop fighting for this until I win."

At the heart of the case were serious allegations against Carter. Satterthwaite accused the multiple Grammy winner of deliberately obstructing justice — including claims of fraud, misrepresentation, and exploitation of procedural systems across multiple jurisdictions to avoid a court-ordered paternity test.

In May of the same year (2023), he filed a court order pushing to compel Carter to submit to DNA testing. The rapper has never publicly acknowledged the claims. However, his legal team previously addressed the situation.

"The fabricated allegations and claims have been addressed – and rejected — in multiple other courts and [Satterthwaite's] continued harassment of [Jay-Z] and disregard of those orders has already resulted in a contempt order," read court documents obtained by US Weekly.

Carter's team also noted that the matter had been "reviewed thoroughly by the courts" and refuted. "I am sure that will be the outcome of whatever filings Mr. Satterthwaite may be currently considering," added the rapper's attorney. Now, it appears that that prediction has come to pass.

In new documents obtained by Page Six, a California judge has officially dismissed the federal paternity lawsuit with prejudice, siding with Carter's motion to end the legal battle once and for all. The ruling doesn't just close the case — it effectively bars Satterthwaite from ever re-filing the same lawsuit or requesting a paternity test from Carter through the courts again.

'Bully Tactics': Satterthwaite Previously Said Industry Giants Were Deterring Him

As of now, Carter's team has not issued a public comment in response to the decision. Before the ruling, Satterthwaite had publicly signaled a shift in strategy.

In a candid Instagram video posted in July 2025, he addressed his followers directly, sharing that he had voluntarily withdrawn the fraud and paternity suit — but made it clear that the fight, in his eyes, was far from over.

"I did withdraw my case. It's for a reason, y'all. It's not because I'm stopping with it or not going to refile it or anything like that. It's just a lot going on behind closed doors," he explained.

Speaking calmly but with conviction, Satterthwaite described what he viewed as "bully tactics" allegedly employed by those in power — from celebrities to court officials — to manipulate the legal process and silence his efforts.

"You know how this industry works," he said in the video. "These judges, these lawyers, high celebrity people, they try to use all different types of tactics [...] to slow it down and just change the narrative. So it's like, hey, we got to step back and play chess, not checkers."

Satterthwaite also took the opportunity to dispel rumors and reinforce his integrity. He firmly denied receiving a DNA test, settlement, or any form of compensation — vowing he wouldn't have accepted anything in secret even if it had been offered.

"Honestly, even if it wasn't your business, you know, you guys have been here for me all these years supporting [sic] me," he stated. "I wouldn't dare just run away with no money or nothing [sic] like that."

While the court's recent dismissal may signal a legal end to his quest, Satterthwaite had framed his fight as part of something larger — a broader challenge against what he perceives as a broken system.

"This was never just about me," he noted. "We don't need to continue to go in these courtrooms and don't [sic] get fair due process [...]I'm standing on business and, you know, I will continue to fight."

As he signed off, he reminded his supporters to "keep moving forward" with him — a message of perseverance that underscores the emotional core of his years-long pursuit for clarity and recognition.

The Behind-the-Scenes Details That Started It All, and the DNA Test That Never Came to Pass

Long before the recent ruling closed the case in finality, the question of Satterthwaite's paternal origin had been quietly unraveling behind the scenes for years. Born in July 1993, Satterthwaite's birth certificate listed Robert Graves — his mother's high school sweetheart — as his father. But according to a family insider, Satterthwaite's mom always knew Grave wasn't the biological parent.

The issue didn't reach court until 2010, when her health declined. She claimed she'd only been intimate with two men around the time of conception: Graves and Carter. A Pennsylvania court ordered DNA tests. Graves complied and was ruled out, leading to his name being removed from the birth certificate, which has remained blank ever since.

In 2011, Satterthwaite's mother, who passed in 2016, handed custody of her son to godmother Coley, who continued the legal fight. That year, Coley requested a DNA test from Carter's legal team in New Jersey. However, Satterthwaite and Coley say they never received results.

In 2014, a civil suit was filed against the rapper, but the court dismissed it, siding with Carter's defense that he had no legal ties to New Jersey.

Since then, Coley and Satterthwaite filed repeated civil rights complaints, alleging systemic bias and procedural mishandling — all of which were dismissed.

Jay-Z Seemingly Breaks Silence... In a Song?

Although Carter, known for his illustrious career in the music industry, has never spoken publicly about the case, he seemed to reference the rumors in his 2018 track "You Heard About Us." In the song, he raps, "Billie Jean in his prime. For the thousandth time, the kid ain't mine. Online they [sic] call me dad, kiddingly. You're not supposed to take this dad thing literally."

Though the legal battle may have reached its end, the emotional complexities surrounding Rymir Satterthwaite's paternity claim continue to linger — unresolved in court, but not forgotten.