The record-breaking “Dis” track Not Like Us, released this year, states that Drake is a sex offender, with the lyrics, “Drake, I hear you like I’m young,” and describes a “certified pedophile” and a “predator.” Reference. ,

Drake, using his given name Aubrey Drake Graham, filed a petition in Bexar County District Court in Texas on Monday serving notice to music giants iHeartMedia and Universal Music Group that Not Like Us was a viral hit on UMG. Accused of planning to convert. Drake, a fellow UMG artist.

Universal Music Group denied that it had undermined Drake or used unethical methods to market Lamar’s song, saying in a statement that Drake’s allegations were “fabricated and absurd legal arguments”. .

Representatives for iHeartMedia, based in San Antonio, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Drake’s company Frozen Moments filed a similar lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against Universal and Spotify on Monday, accusing Universal of using payola and other manipulative practices to promote Not Like Us. Spotify did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Like Texas, the New York case is not a formal lawsuit but rather a notice that a lawsuit may be forthcoming. Drake alleges in the New York filing that UMG “began a campaign to manipulate and saturate” streaming services like Spotify to help Not Like Us go viral, including using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements. Use of was also included.

“Streaming and licensing is a zero-sum game,” Drake’s filing said. “Every time a song ‘breaks through,’ it means no other artist does. UMG’s choice to saturate the music market with Not Like Us comes at the expense of its other artists like Drake “

Universal, whose division Interscope Records represents Lamar, disputed the allegations in a statement. “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the statement said. “We use the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of fanciful and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can hide the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

The two one-time collaborators began feuding after Lamar’s bravado over his 2013 track, in which he rapped Drake and several other big names in the genre, saying, “I love y’all, but I’m gonna murder y’all.” Trying to…trying to make sure your core fans never hear about you.” This dispute, which initially seemed minor, has become deeper in the last few years.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; editing