Part-time Texas resident Drake's ongoing legal battle against Universal Music Group (UMG) keeps heating up as his Bexar County hearing approaches. The Canadian-born rapper recently dropped his complaint against San Antonio-based music company iHeartMedia,

Universal Music Group filed its first response to Drake’s defamation lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us," calling it "meritless."

The label goes on to refute allegations that “Not Like Us” issued a “call to violence,” as Drake’s security guard was shot outside the rapper’s home days after the song’s release. UMG claims that “Drake attempts to contort violent metaphors in the lyrics into incitement.”