Superproducer Timbaland and rap icon Jay-Z could be in hot water after a federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday has left them open to a lawsuit. The frequent collaborators are being targeted because their 2000 smash "Big Pimpin'" used a sample from an Egyptian film score that may not have been properly cleared.
The musician Baligh Hamdy composed “Khosra, Khosra,” the sampled song, and its rights were inherited by his four children. Although Timbaland and Jay-Z did obtain permission to reproduce and perform the song, Hamdy's children are arguing that they did not have the necessary rights for sampling and looping. Though a claim has not yet been filed against the hip hop luminaries, Tuesday's ruling supports the Hamdy's basic premise. Exactly how much is at stake over the hit song remains to be seen.
Pimpin' ain't easy.

(Photo:  Kevin Mazur/WireImage)