anya Stephens, a Jamaican based reggae artist, has filed a lawsuit against Lil' Kim alleging that the Brooklyn bred rapper stole a song from her. According to The New York Post, Stephens' suit, which was filed in Manhattan federal court last week, claims Kim stole lyrics from her 1997 song "Mi and Mi God" and used them on the song "Durty", which is featured on the rapper's 2005 album, The Naked Truth. The suit also claims Kim (born Kimberly Jones) flew Stephens to New York in 1999 to sing on one of her earlier albums and revealed she was a fan of the reggae singer when they officially met by singing "Mi and Mi God." The song the two recorded was never released. Stephens is seeking to gain ownership of "Durty" and receive all past and future royalties. "The lawsuit against Atlantic Records and Lil Kim is the result of Royaty Networks Inc's failed attempts to extract unreasonable sums and percentages of Lil Kim's new song for an interpolated use of a song which happens all the time in hip-hop," Kim's entertainment attorney L. Londell McMillan said in a statement. "There are no damages to Tanya Stephens, they never objected until after their efforts failed, and Kim was and remains willing to be fair. This matter should have been resolved but it appears to be another money and media play at Lil Kim's expense. This issue was no secret. Kim was advised licenses were obtained by those who handle clearances at the time. We shall defend this action." As SOHH previously reported, Kim is in the process of signing a lucrative record deal with Interscope Records and plans to release an album via the label in the summer of 2007. The Grammy Award winning rapper is also is readying to launch the second season of her BET reality show, "Countdown to Lockdown". The first season, which debuted earlier this year, captured footage of the petit lyricist before she turned herself into the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center to serve her 366-day sentence.

Categories: HIP HOP NEWS [t]

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