A soul singer from the ’60s is angling for a big payday after bringing a lawsuit against Virginia producer Timbaland for sampling one of his tracks for a pair of songs. Ernie Hines filed a $2 million lawsuit against Timbaland, who used the original recording to create songs for Jay-Z and Ginuwine separately.

The Blast reports:

81-year-old Ernie Hines filed a lawsuit, obtained by The Blast, against Jay-Z, Timbaland, Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Recordings, Universal Music Group and Sony Music.

Hines, a soul musician from Jackson, Mississippi, says he’s the co-author and composer of the 1969 song, “Help Me,” which was sampled on both Jay-Z’s “Paper Chase” from the Hard Knock Life album, and Ginuwine’s 1999 song, “Toe 2 Toe.”

Timbaland produced both tracks, and the document notes that “Toe 2 Toe” has sold over “2 million copies.”

Hines’ attorney, Christopher Brown, writes that his client is a “senior citizen, does not listen to rap music and was unaware” that the songs contained his music and composition.

Thus far, it appears that Timbaland has not publicly responded to Hines’ lawsuit claims.

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Photo: WENN

Source: HipHopWired.com

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