Drake is battling his own record label over a song that is the lynchpin of a now legendary hip-hop feud.

Drake's legal team said Universal Music Group used its resources to "elevate a dangerous and inflammatory message that was designed to assassinate Drake’s character."

After testing the waters with two pre-action petitions last November, Drake jumped out the window with a full-on federal defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group for the distribution of Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” on Wednesday (Jan.

Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical."

Drake sued his longtime label on Wednesday, accusing Universal Music Group of defamation for promoting Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," saying the song's false accusation that the Canadian rapper is a pedophile has put him and his family in danger.

Universal Music has filed a motion to dismiss Drake’s petition for pre-suit deposition in Bexar County, Texas, citing lack of evidence in the rapper’s claims against the record company that it artificially inflated and promoted Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.

UMG’s motion to dismiss argues that Drake’s lack of direct evidence towards his “Not Like Us” defamation and payola claims warrant a dismissal of the petition. “Because [Drake’s] petition is related to and was filed in response to UMG’s protected free speech,

Universal Music Group is again clapping back at Drake in the legal fight over Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us.” UMG Files Motion to Dismiss Texas Pre-Action Petition On Thursday (Jan. 23), lawyers for UMG filed a 144-page motion requesting the dismissal of Drake’s pre-action petition filed in Texas last November,