Drake is taking action against his music distributor, Universal Music Group (UMG), following a conflict with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar.

The Canadian artist filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, as reported by YSL News, claiming “corporate greed” in how UMG promoted a Lamar track that implies Drake is a “certified pedophile.”

YSL News has reached out to representatives for Drake but has yet to receive a response. Previously, Drake has denied Lamar’s accusations.

According to Drake’s legal team, he warned UMG about the “tangible harm” caused by the song, which even involved threats linked to his 7-year-old son Adonis, resulting in violence and financial repercussions. However, he claims UMG “did nothing to assist.”

The lawsuit mentions that just three days after UMG released the Recording and Image, Drake faced threats as armed intruders targeted his home in Toronto, an incident likened to the 2016 ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy, which falsely suggested a child trafficking operation was tied to a restaurant and linked to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Universal Music Group claims Drake is attempting to ‘silence an artist’s creative expression’

In a statement to YSL News on Wednesday, a UMG spokesperson refuted the claims, stating, “These allegations are false, and the idea that we would want to harm an artist’s reputation—especially Drake’s—is illogical. We have made significant investments in his music and our global team has worked diligently for many years to help him achieve unprecedented commercial and personal success.”

“Throughout his career, Drake has utilized UMG to distribute his music and engage in traditional rap rivalries,” the statement added. “Now, he appears to be using the legal system to stifle an artist’s creative expression and to demand damages from UMG for the distribution of that music.”

The statement concluded with UMG stressing that they do not engage in defamation against anyone, asserting they will robustly defend against this lawsuit to safeguard their reputation and that of any artist who may be unjustly targeted for simply creating music.

Drake’s lawsuit claims UMG ‘intentionally’ aimed to make him a ‘pariah’

Drake’s attorneys argue that despite their long-standing partnership, “UMG intentionally set out to make Drake a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse.” They allege that the label disregarded his requests “because it would profit from harming Drake’s reputation.”

The lawsuit clarifies that it focuses “not on the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’ but rather on UMG, the company that chose to publish, promote, exploit, and profit from” the song, according to records from YSL News.

In a disturbing claim within the suit, Drake states that he withdrew his son Adonis from school and arranged for them to leave Toronto entirely for his safety following these events.

Drake dropped previous complaint against UMG and Spotify before new lawsuit

Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Graham, withdrew a prior legal action on Tuesday, where he accused UMG and Spotify of orchestrating a “scheme” to ensure Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” gained widespread streaming success.

He has now filed a fresh lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, retracting his earlier request for the companies to provide evidence related to his allegations, known as pre-action discovery (Spotify had previously opposed this request, while UMG had not responded as per YSL News court documents).

Drake, UMG, and Spotify had a meeting on Tuesday, as noted in the court documents, where Spotify expressed “no objections to the withdrawal and discontinuance” of the prior suit.

Drake’s representatives have not commented on the decision to drop the original complaint.

Background on Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud

The conflict between Lamar and Drake began over a decade ago back in 2013, but tensions escalated significantly this past spring as they exchanged harsh lyrics and serious accusations.

In a November petition filed in New York Supreme Court, Drake alleged that UMG and Spotify were engaging in a “scheme to ensure” that Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” became prominent across multiple streaming services.

Drake also accused UMG of using questionable methods to boost the song’s reach on platforms like Spotify and radio, helping it break several records and reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 twice.

He claimed that UMG’s tactics to artificially raise the popularity of “Not Like Us” were driven partly by the profit motives of Interscope executives. Drake suspects that UMG was involved in racketeering through bribery and deceptive business practices.

The November filing was made under the name Frozen Moments, LLC, of which Drake is a manager, according to Florida’s Division of Corporations.

The music company reacted in November by stating, “The claim that UMG would undermine any of its artists is both offensive and untrue. We uphold the highest ethical standards in our marketing and promotional practices. No fabricated legal arguments can mask the reality that fans choose what music they want to listen to.” Spotify has also opted to remain silent on the matter.

(This story has been updated with additional information.)

Contributors: Caché McClay, Bob Mehr, The Nashville Tennessean