50 Cent sued over 'In Da Club' lyrics

Nearly three years after his hit In Da Club rocketed up the charts, rapper 50 Cent is being sued for copyright infringement over the song.

Lawyer Richard C. Wolfe has filed a lawsuit against the hit rapper and Universal Music in Miami federal court on behalf of record label Lil' Joe Wein Music.

The suit alleges that Curtis James Jackson (a.k.a. 50 Cent) lifted some of his lyrics for In Da Club from a 1994 song entitled It's Your Birthday by 2 Live Crew founder and rap entrepreneur Luther Campbell.

The oft-repeated intro to In Da Club includes the lines: "Go shorty, it's your birthday. We're gonna party like it's your birthday."

It's Your Birthday includes the lines: "Go Freddie! Go! Go! Go Freddie! Go! Go! Go Freddie! It's your birthday. It's your birthday. It's your birthday."

The lawsuit, filed last week, seeks unspecified damages, lawyers' fees and other costs.

Lil' Joe Wein Music owns the copyright to It's Your Birthday and other songs from Campbell's catalog, both as a member of 2 Live Crew and as a solo artist.

The label is owned by Joseph Weinberger, a lawyer who formerly represented Campbell. Weinberger struck a deal to buy the rights to Campbell's music when the early rap artist declared bankruptcy in the mid-1990s.

Wolfe, who filed the lawsuit last week, is also the lawyer who opposed Campbell in a separate lawsuit in 1994. He represented a rapper named Peter Jones, who sued Campbell for withholding royalties over a record Campbell produced.

Jones eventually won a $2.3-million US judgment against Campbell, who subsequently was forced to file for bankruptcy.