Canadian rapper Drake has taken his feud with rival Kendrick Lamar to a US court, accusing record label Universal Music of conspiring to boost the California hip-hop star’s streaming numbers and him to have defamed him, according to court documents and media reports on Tuesday.

Drake, the world’s highest-grossing rapper last year, and Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize winner, have long been embroiled in an escalating war of words in a music genre known for celebrating and obsessing over rivalries between its biggest stars be.

The so-called “beef” increased significantly this year, as each man released scathing “diss tracks” criticizing the other.

Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which accused Drake of having relationships with underage girls, enjoyed widespread commercial and critical acclaim, being played over 900 million times on streaming platform Spotify and receiving multiple Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year.

But in the first of two lawsuits this week, Drake on Monday accused Universal Music Group (UMG), which distributes the song, of charging Spotify unusually low prices to license the track in exchange for the streamer’s ownership of the track widely recommended to subscribers.

According to a court document filed in New York, Drake also accused UMG of using automated computer “bots” to artificially inflate the alleged number of times the song was streamed on Spotify.

In a second petition filed in Texas on Tuesday and first reported by music site Billboard, Drake claimed that UMG was aware that the song contained “objectionable material” but distributed it anyway without requesting any changes or edits Lyrics to pass.

“UMG then designed, financed and executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral megahit, with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his companies to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenue.” the petition says.

Neither of this week’s complaints are lawsuits, nor are they formal allegations of fraud or defamation.

However, evidence collected from both petitions could be used in a lawsuit at a later date.

“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” a UMG spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“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.”

Drake’s legal action comes just days after Lamar surprised fans on Friday with the unannounced release of his new album “GNX.”

In February, he will headline the Super Bowl halftime show – a coveted showcase that takes place in the middle of the NFL season finale and is regularly watched by about a third of Americans.

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