UPDATE: DRAKE CLAIMS UMG, SPOTIFY MANIPULATED STREAMS OF LAMAR'S "NOT LIKE US"

UPDATE: A second filing in a Texas court accuses UMG of defamation and that it "funneled payments" to iHeart Media to promote "Not Like Us."

Submitted last night (11/25), the filing claims that UMG "could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed. But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations."

UMG responded in a statement: "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. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear."

The beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake just got a whole lot spicier, with the latter initiating legal action against UMG and Spotify for allegedly colluding to inflate airplay and streaming for the former's global smash hit diss track "Not Like Us."

The development is even more peculiar given that UMG is the longtime home for both artists.

Drake's filing is a “pre-action” petition, which under New York law allows a party to obtain information and documents before commencing a proper lawsuit.

According to Billboard, Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC claims that UMG engaged in an illegal “scheme” powered by bots and payola to further the popularity of "Not Like Us," which leveled some extremely unflattering accusations at the Canadian artist during a prolonged back-and-forth of diss tracks with Lamar this year.

Drake also says UMG licensed "Not Like Us" at significantly reduced rates to help "generate the false impression that the song was more popular than it was in reality.”

What's more, he maintains, "UMG paid, or approved payments to, Apple Inc. to have its voice-activated digital assistant ‘Siri’ purposely misdirect users to ‘Not Like Us'" and that the company terminated "employees associated with or perceived as having loyalty to Drake.”

Drake's lawyers apparently plan to sue under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which landed R. Kelly in jail for sex-related crimes in 2021.

The news follows the surprise release of Lamar's new Interscope album, GNX, which is dominating DSPs worldwide.