full size Adam Yauch on May 2, 2008 in New York City
Credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Talk about poor timing. Hip-hop record label Tuf America is suing the Beastie Boys for copyright infringement — and they began taking action barely a day before the band was rocked by the tragic death of rapper Adam “MCA” Yauch.

Yauch lost his three-year battle with cancer on May 4, and now AllHipHop.com is reporting that Tuf America filed their lawsuit just one day earlier, on May 3.

So as bandmates Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz mourn the death of their 47-year-old friend, they’ll also have to prep to respond to this new legal action.

Tuf America’s lawsuit claims that the Beastie Boys’s 1986 debut, License to Ill, and their 1989 follow up, Paul's Boutique, both sampled illegally from two songs by the R&B/funk band Trouble Funk. The four Beastie Boys songs involved are “Hold It Now Hit It,” “The New Style,” “Car Thief,” and “Shadrach.”

The site also reports that Tuf America is asking for a trial to see if they are owed any punitive and exemplary damages.

From Hello Nasty, to Hello Nasty... lawsuit? Let’s hope this can be resolved as simply and painlessly as possible!

Source: AllHipHop.com

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