The social media personality -- who actually gets paid thousands of dollars to impersonate Drake -- was spotted over the weekend in Houston nightclub Area 29.

Promoters DJ Eric and Chris Chizer also spotted the imposter and demanded security remove him from the premises ... in the name of loyalty to the real deal.

After the damning video made its rounds to DJ Akademiks' Instagram page, the real Drake let his actions speak louder than words, and attacked the clone ... by liking the clip!

The plot thickened when fake Drizzy claimed the embarrassing nightclub moment was staged to help promote real Drake's new album, "Honestly Nevermind."

Well, PretendPapi might wanna pump his brakes on that story -- TMZ Hip Hop spoke to Houston Ross, the promoter who shot the clip, and he says the altercation was totally organic. What's more, he says fake Drake and his manager paid the $30 cover just like everyone else.

Ross tells us DJ Eric and Drake are actually close friends and seeing the imposter set him off. Drake actually has his own reserved section inside Area 29, so it wouldn't make any business sense to bring the phony guy in to host.

Ross also shared Instagram DMs from fake Drake's manager, blaming DJ Eric and Drake for putting his client in the embarrassing viral moment.

Drake's new album projections are circling the 210-230K first-week sales benchmark ... a total steal for an album announced just hours prior to its release.