JAY-Z and Timbaland Hit With $2 Million Lawsuit for Uncleared "Paper Chase" Sample

JAY-Z and Timbaland are being slapped with a new multi-million dollar lawsuit for a track they created over 20 years ago.

On Saturday, The Blast reported that soul musician Ernie Hines has named the Jigga Man and Timbaland in a new copyright infringement lawsuit. According to Hines' legal team, JAY-Z's 1998 song "Paper Chase" has pieces of Hines' 1969 song "Help Me" in the instrumental. The 81-year-old singer co-wrote and composed "Help Me," and because of his age, was unaware that JAY-Z's track existed.

"[Hines is a] senior citizen, does not listen to rap music, and was unaware," Hines' lawyer, Christopher Brown, explained in court documents obtained by the site.

Neither JAY-Z, Timbaland, nor their respective labels reached out to Hines to clear the sample before it dropped. Because of this, Def Jam, Roc-A-Fella Records, Sony Music, and Universal Music Group have also been named in the lawsuit. While Jigga's song is merely one of Vol. 2's album cuts, the bulk of the damages are assumed to be centered around Ginuwine’s 1999 single, "Toe 2 Toe." Like "Paper Chase," Timbaland used portions of "Help Me" when producing "Toe 2 Toe." Yet instead of being a deep cut for dedicated listeners, "Toe 2 Toe" took on a life of its own going on to sell 2 million copies.