Drake makes another legal move against Universal over Kendrick Lamar diss track ‘Not Like Us’

For the second straight day, Drake has taken legal action against Universal Music Group, this time in Texas, over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.”

The two court moves have taken the bitter beef between the two hip-hop superstars to a whole new level, with the parent company of the labels for both men now pulled directly into the fight.

Tuesday’s filing in Bexar County alleges UMG engaged in “irregular and inappropriate business practices” to get radio airplay for “Not Like Us,” including making illegal payments to San Antonio-based iHeartMedia. The petition, a precursor to a potential lawsuit, seeks depositions from corporate representatives of both companies.

The petition says Drake could sue UMG for defamation, among other claims.

A UMG representative did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the new filing. In a Monday statement in response to the New York filing, the company said the “suggestion that UMG 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.”

An email to an iHeartMedia representative seeking comment was also not immediately answered.

The back-to-back legal maneuvers represent a major and possibly unprecedented escalation of a hip-hop feud, especially with the label representing two of the biggest stars in music sitting at the center of it.

Drake, a 38-year-old Canadian rapper and singer and five-time Grammy winner, and Lamar, a 37-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner who is set to headline the next Super Bowl halftime, were occasional collaborators more than a decade ago.

That changed when Lamar began taking public jabs at Drake starting in 2013. The fight escalated steeply earlier this year.

“Not Like Us,” the wildly popular Lamar single released in May, was an especially vicious moment in a flurry of dueling tracks from the two artists.