Jay-Z Sued Over Illegal Sample in Hit 'Run This Town'

New York City record label TufAmerica Inc. accuses the rapper of using an illegal sample of Eddie Bo's 'Hook and Sling' in his collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, 'Run This Town'.

A New York City record label is accusing Jay-Z of using an illegal sample in his 2009 hit collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, "Run This Town". According to The New York Daily News, TufAmerica Inc. filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in Manhattan court on Wednesday, November 6.

The company claimed that the rapper sampled "Hook & Sling", a 1969 tune by singer Eddie Bo and producer Al Scramuzza, without their permission. Now, they are seeking monetary proceeds from Jay-Z's track. The label also wants to make sure further distribution of "Run This Town" is halted because of the illegal sample.

The suit names Jay-Z, his Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC, Atlantic Recording Corp., as well as a few others as defendants.

This is the third suit the label has filed against Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella this year. The first two were apparently settled out of the court.

TufAmerica Inc. is described by the New York Times as a company that makes money from "buying the rights to old songs and suing artists who sample them without permission." Last year, they accused Beastie Boys of illegally featuring samples of Trouble Funk's songs in their albums, 1986's "Licensed to Ill" and 1989's "Paul's Boutique".