Embattled rapper Troy Ave recently said that he almost signed a record contract with Top Dawg Entertainment, but the label’s namesake CEO says otherwise.

On “Truth Be Told PSA,” a song from his latest album Nupac, Troy Ave said that when he was in jail, Kendrick Lamar reached out to check in and give him encouragement. A few days later, Troy Ave said, he told his then-manager Hovain to “put the plan in action” to get him signed to TDE. He said that discussions “fell through.”

According to the label’s CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, nothing fell through – because discussions never began in the first place.

“For the record, I’ve never had a convo with Troy ave or anyone in his camp. Neither has KDot,” Tiffith tweeted. “Yesterday’s story was fake news.”

Troy’s claim on the song was odd, considering that he had repeatedly disparaged Kendrick as a “weirdo rapper” in interviews. But he said he respected the respect of the label, which has become one of rap’s most respected companies while guiding the careers of artists like ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Isaiah Rashad.

“I always liked what they was doing. They kinda independent like us, but way bigger because they went and got with a major,” he said. “They got shit that I like to see, like loyalty and unity, that type of shit. Cool. I give [Hovain] the whole play. Of course, he can’t make that happen at all. At all. He doesn’t make it happen. The whole shit just fell through.”

Troy Ave