Drake has filed a second bombshell lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” accusing the music giant of defamation and claiming he could have stopped the release of a song “in which he was falsely accused of being a being a sexual predator.”

A day after filing a lawsuit in New York accusing UMG of illegally boosting Lamar’s track on Spotify, Drake’s company made similar claims in a Texas court against radio giant iHeartRadio. The new filing, filed late Monday and made public Tuesday, alleges that UMG may have funneled “payments” to iHeart as part of a “pay-to-play program” to promote the song on radio.

But the filing also offers important new details about Drake’s grievances with UMG, the label where he has spent his entire career. In it, he says UMG knew that Kendrick’s song “falsely” accused him of being a “certified pedophile” and “predator” but decided to release it anyway.

“UMG … could have refused to publish or distribute the song, or requested that the offending material be edited and/or removed,” Drake’s lawyers wrote. “But UMG decided to do the opposite. UMG then devised, financed, and executed a plan to turn “Not Like Us” into a viral megahit, intending to use the spectacle of damaging Drake and his companies to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenue. This plan was successful and probably exceeded UMG’s wildest expectations.”

Like the lawsuit filed Monday in New York, the new petition is not a real lawsuit. Instead, it is a so-called pre-action filing aimed at collecting statements from key people at UMG and iHeart in order to obtain further information that could support Drake’s allegations in a future lawsuit.

In searching for this information, Drake’s lawyers say they already have enough evidence to file a “defamation lawsuit” against UMG, but that they may also file civil fraud and racketeering lawsuits based on what they say learned from the witness statements.

UMG and iHeartRadio did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new filing. Lamar is not named as a defendant in the filing and is not legally accused of any wrongdoing.

Universal Music Group responded to yesterday’s filing with a statement billboard. “The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the company said. “We apply the highest ethical principles in our marketing and advertising campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this preliminary motion can obscure the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Like Monday’s bombshell petition, the new Texas filing is another notable escalation in the high-profile dispute between the two stars, which saw Drake and Lamar exchange heated dissent over a period of months earlier this year. Such arguments are common in the hip-hop world, but few would have imagined that either side would take legal action over the insults.

It also represents a deepening of the rift between Drake and UMG, where the star has spent his entire career – first by signing a deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint, distributed by Republic Records, and then by signing directly with Republic. Lamar has also been associated with UMG throughout his career and currently has signed a licensing deal with Interscope.

In Tuesday’s new petition, Drake essentially accused the music giant of using illegal means to unfairly prioritize one of its artists over the other.

“Before the UMG approved the release of the song, it knew that the song itself, as well as the accompanying album cover and music video, attacked the character of another of the UMG’s most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders and committing other criminal sexual acts,” his lawyers wrote.

Read Drake’s entire legal filing here: