Drake's legal team said UMG used its resources to "elevate a dangerous and inflammatory message that was designed to assassinate Drake’s character."

The leading hip-hop superstar beef has been cranked up another notch, with Drake suing Universal Music Group for defamation over rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.”

Drake’s ongoing legal battle with his label, Universal Music Group, has escalated. The artist filed a lawsuit in federal court today, accusing UMG of harming his reputation and endangering him for profit.

Drake claims UMG valued “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists" by promoting the Grammy-nominated hit.

After flirting with the possibility for months, Drake is suing Universal Music Group for defamation and harassment over releasing Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” Drake filed the suit January 15 against UMG,

The rapper Drake has sued Universal Music Group for defamation, alleging the music empire of promoting a diss track against him last spring.

Drake sued his longtime label on Wednesday, accusing Universal Music Group of defamation for promoting Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," saying the song's false accusation that the Canadian rapper is a pedophile has put him and his family in danger.

Some people have surmised that Aubrey's legal tactic is a way to get the NFL and Apple Music, who sponsor the halftime show, to make Kendrick not include that song in his set. Drake's lawsuit only ups the ante on the Super Bowl banning the performance of the song in order to possibly avoid being thrown into the court case.

After threatening legal action two months ago, Drake officially sued his record label, Universal Music Group, over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” on Wednesday. The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court,

Drake claimed the music company "launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track” that was “intended to convey the false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile"