50 Cent sues Rick Ross over illegal song sample

American rapper Curtis James Jackson III aka 50 Cent has sued Rick Ross for sampling his song "In Da Club" in his mixtape without permission. He has sought $2 million in damages.

50 Cent filed a lawsuit against Ross in Connecticut on Wednesday after he found out that his 2003 hit was sampled on Ross's "Renzel Remixes" mixtape without his permission, reports tmz.com.

The tape was put out for free, but 50 Cent argued Ross used it to promote his album "Black Market" that came out weeks later.

The 40-year-old rapper's team further explained his decision to sue his longtime nemesis in a statement to Billboard.

"50 Cent's most valuable asset is the name and reputation he has painstakingly built through his Grammy-winning music, acting, and business endeavours.

"He chooses his projects carefully for the very purpose of protecting that name and reputation. Our complaint alleges that Rick Ross has taken these without permission to advertise his own album, and violated 50 Cent's rights in the process, and we believe he should be held liable," wrote Paul LiCalsi, partner and co-chair of the Entertainment and Media Litigation Group, at Robins Kaplan LLP.

Craig Weiner, partner at Robins Kaplan LLP, said: "We will use every legal tool available to remedy what we allege is an unauthorised use of 50 Cent's name, identity, and trademark.

"50 Cent actively and generously collaborates with fellow hip-hop artists, but we maintain that this is a case of outright misappropriation. 50 Cent had absolutely nothing to do with Black Market or the mixtape that preceded it," he added.

Meanwhile, Ross is yet to comment on the lawsuit.