Despite widespread mockery, Drake appears to be serious in his claims that Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” received help from payola and bots on its way to being a No. 1 hit.

The Canadian rapper’s attorneys have filed a second petition alleging that Universal Music Group paid for the diss track to be successful, only this time, it was iHeartRadio, not Spotify, that allegedly joined in on the scheme, Forbes reports. While the first filing was made in New York, this second claim was filed in Texas.

The rappers born Aubrey Drake Graham and Kendrick Lamar Duckworth attacked each other in a series of songs earlier this year, with “Not Like Us” serving as the knockout blow in Lamar’s victory in the eyes of many.

Instead of accepting a loss and moving on, Drake has instead alleged UMG actively worked to slander one of their artists at the expense of another, as both rappers have their music distributed by the company. UMG has denied the claims.

“The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue,” the record label said in a statement. “No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Lamar has not publicly responded to the claims, though he’s traditionally used his songs to make his case, including on Friday’s surprise album “GNX,” where he claimed he “just strangled me a GOAT,” the “greatest of all time” title that Drake frequently claimed.

Hip-hop fans on the internet, however, did not wait to get their jokes off.

Twitter personality Dragonfly Jonez said he’d “never seen a bigger L in rap history” and pointed out that this lawsuit attacks streaming numbers, but not Lamar’s claims that Drake is a “certified pedophile” whose friends are also sexual predators.

“You are being called a pedophile who hangs with and harbors other pedophiles in his own home and even has these pedophiles on your payroll on the biggest rap single of the year,” Jones wrote, with an imaginary Drake responding, “Excuse me?!?! Biggest rap single of the year?????? We’ll see about that!”

New York Times opinion writer Jane Coaston also weighed in, paraphrasing one of Lamar’s more prominent lines on “Not Like Us” when supporting the logic of UMG’s claims.

“The audience ain’t dumb, Drake,” she tweeted.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Dozens of migrants are in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody after a boat was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard off the San Diego coast on Saturday.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter (WPB 87362) was patrolling the waters off San Diego on Saturday when they reported they made contact with a 33-foot boat that was operating without navigation lights about seven nautical miles off the coast of Point Loma.

The Coast Guard says the Sea Otter’s boarding team, along with members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), boarded the boat and found 37 migrants aboard.

The migrants were taken to Ballast Point and transferred into CBP custody. The Coast Guard says 30 were of Mexican nationality, two were of Salvadoran nationality, three were of Guatemalan nationality, and one was of Colombian nationality, along with one U.S. citizen who was reported to be the operator of the vessel.

No other information was immediately available.

A Southern California-based nonprofit CEO pleaded guilty Monday to fraudulently applying for millions of dollars in COVID-19 jobless benefits, using stolen identities to steal nearly $1.5 million, officials say.

According to the Department of Justice, Reginald Foster Jr., 38, of Westchester, Los Angeles, admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud and one count of unauthorized use of access devices. 

The indictment alleges Foster took advantage of the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, part of the CARES Act passed in 2020 to help people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between June and October of 2020, the DOJ says Foster conspired with others to file fraudulent unemployment claims using the personal information of individuals who did not authorize the applications. 

In total, Foster and his co-conspirators allegedly submitted 118 fraudulent applications to the California Employment Development Department (EDD), using stolen identities to ensure the approval of the claims. 

Foster then received debit cards issued by EDD and transferred funds from those cards to his nonprofit, Champs Up! LLC, which was reportedly created to provide lifestyle and personal development coaching to middle school students in Los Angeles and Long Beach.

According to officials, Foster also withdrew large sums of money from the cards, including multiple $1,000 ATM withdrawals. 

The group ultimately withdrew nearly $1.5 million from the fraudulent claims, according to the DOJ. 

The scheme was purportedly uncovered when EDD and Bank of America froze the remaining benefits, preventing additional losses of more than $4 million.

The DOJ says Foster now faces up to 30 years in federal prison for the conspiracy charge and up to 10 years for the unauthorized use of access devices when he is sentenced on March 24, 2025. He remains free on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.

Two co-defendants, Shelece Counts, 31, of Los Angeles, and Isaiah Herbert Lawrence, 31, of Houston, Texas, have pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the scheme. A trial is scheduled for January 2025.