Drake's Label Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar 'Not Like Us,' Claims Rapper 'Lost a Rap Battle He Provoked'

Universal Music Group is firing back at Drake after he filed a lawsuit against them for alleged defamation.

After the Canadian rapper — whose real name is Aubrey Graham — sued the record label for releasing and promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” UMG is now seeking to dismiss the suit in a motion filed on Monday, March 17.

In the suit, the label claims Drake, 38, “lost a rap battle that he provoked” and “sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”

UMG claims that while “Not Like Us” features hyperbolic insults, Drake has used the label’s platform “to promote tracks leveling similarly incendiary attacks at Lamar.”

On “Not Like Us,” the Grammy winner refers to Drake and his friends as “certified pedophiles” who should “be registered and placed on neighborhood watch.” But according to UMG, the “Hotline Bling” performer encouraged the feud, seemingly until the public appeared to side with Lamar, 37.

“Drake encouraged the feud,” the filing states. “For example, when he felt that Lamar was taking too long to respond, Drake released a second recording in which he goaded Lamar to continue the public rap battle. Lamar did just that, and collectively Drake and Lamar released a total of nine tracks taking aim at each other.”

The motion also states that Drake was “pleased” to see UMG promote tracks that hurled accusations of Lamar engaging in domestic abuse “and that one of Lamar’s business partners and managers is the true father of Lamar’s son.”

“But now, after losing the rap battle, Drake claims that ‘Not Like Us’ is defamatory. It is not,” the filing states.

UMG also refutes Drake’s claim that “Not Like Us” constitutes “second-degree harassment” and that the promotion of it violates New York’s general business law.

“Less than three years ago, Drake himself signed a public petition criticizing ‘the trend of prosecutors using artists’ creative expression against them’ by treating rap lyrics as literal fact. As Drake recognized, when it comes to rap, ‘[t]he final work is a product of the artist’s vision and imagination,'” it states.

It continues: “Drake was right then and is wrong now. The complaint’s unjustified claims against UMG are no more than Drake’s attempt to save face for his unsuccessful rap battle with Lamar. The court should grant UMG’s motion and dismiss the Complaint with prejudice.”

“UMG wants to pretend that this is about a rap battle in order to distract its shareholders, artists and the public from a simple truth: a greedy company is finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation that has already resulted in multiple acts of violence,” Drake’s attorney Michael J. Gottlieb tells PEOPLE in a statement. “This motion is a desperate ploy by UMG to avoid accountability, but we have every confidence that this case will proceed and continue to uncover UMG’s long history of endangering, abusing and taking advantage of its artists.”

In January, Drake sued Universal Music Group, his own record label, for releasing and promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.”

In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Drake alleged that the label “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.”

In “Not Like Us,” “cloaks cleverly dangerous lyrics behind a catchy beat and inviting hook,” Drake’s suit claimed.

In the suit, the “God’s Plan” performer also claimed that the cover art and music video for “Not Like Us” featured his home in Toronto with labels similar to those used by law enforcement to pinpoint sex offenders.

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At the time UMG responded to the filing calling the claims “untrue.”

“The notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical. We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success,” a spokesperson for the label told PEOPLE in a statement.

They added: “Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists.  He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”

“We have not and do not engage in defamation — against any individual.  At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song,” the rep concluded.

At the time, PEOPLE contacted Drake’s legal team — led by Gottlieb — for a comment, but did not receive a response.