The beef between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar will continue, as the former makes another legal move against Universal Music Group (UMG) over the “Not Like Us” diss track.

One day after Drake filed an action against UMG for “illegally boosting” Lamar's diss track, he filed another one against them, according to Billboard.

He is accusing UMG  of defamation, saying they could stopped the release of the diss track for “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.”

The second filing, which was made on Monday, November 25, 2024, and made public the following day, also alleges that UMG “funneled payments” to iHeart, accusing them of taking part in a “pay-to-play scheme” to promote the song on the radio.

He also alleges that UMG knew that Lamar's claims of him being a “predator” and “certified pedophile” were false, and yet they still released it.

“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” Drake’s lawyers wrote in the filing. “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.”

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As Billboard notes, Drake's legal moves are not quite a lawsuit. He is filing a pre-action filing. The filings hope to get depositions from higher-ups at UMG and iHeart to support a future lawsuit from Drake.

Drake and Kendrick Lamar's beef and diss tracks

Drake at Heat-Hawks game in 2022.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images.

The latest development in the Drake-Lamar beef continues their long-standing rivalry. After Drake's first filing, UMG replied. They pushed back against the notion that they tried to “undermine” Drake with the release of “Not Like Us.”

“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” their statement to Billboard read. “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.”

Throughout 2024, Drake and Lamar have exchanged diss tracks about one another.  The first diss track, “Like That,” was released by Lamar. Each rapper released five diss tracks in the feud.

However, we will have to wait and see where the feud now goes. It has gone on for months, and there seems to be no end in sight.