US rappers Lil Wayne and Birdman are being sued for copyright infringement by a man claiming his voice was used without permission on album tracks.
Thomas Marasciullo says the rappers asked him to record some "Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006.
The lyrics were, he says, used on Respect and other tracks from the rappers' joint album Like Father, Like Son and Birdman's 5 (Star) Stunna.
The gold-selling Like Father, Like Son hit the top of the R&B/hip-hop chart.
Mr Marasciullo is also suing the rappers record label Cash Money Records and various music distribution outlets. He is seeking unspecified damages.
Mr Marasciullo says he discovered his work had been used when his daughter came across the rappers' track Respect when trying to buy a ringtone.
Grammy-Award winning Wayne is currently facing a year in jail after pleading guilty last week to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
He will be sentenced at New York State Supreme Court in February
|