Photographer sues rapper 50 Cent

50 Cent is one of the biggest new stars of 2003

Rapper 50 Cent and his record label are being sued for $21m (£12.6m) by a photographer who says the US star's bodyguards attacked him.

James Alcorn from The New York Post alleges he was "assaulted and battered" by seven bodyguards while photographing 50 Cent shopping in New York.

Mr Alcorn was said to have suffered neck and jaw injuries in the incident on 27 August.

50 Cent's spokesperson at record label Interscope was unavailable for comment.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in New York's Supreme Court, blames the rapper and Interscope for "not exercising reasonable care and diligence in the employment" of his bodyguards.

Investigation

Mr Alcorn said the rapper's bodyguards had thrown him down on the pavement while 50 Cent looked on, and they then loomed over him while he took a picture.

The incident was being investigated as a misdemeanour assault, police spokesman Sgt Kevin Hayes said.

Rapper 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, is a protege of the Detroit rap star Eminem, and has emerged as one of the biggest new music stars of 2003.

His single In Da Club, a collaboration with hip-hop star and producer Dr Dre, was a number one in the US and a top 10 hit in the UK charts earlier this year.

Despite being dogged by feuding in the hip-hop world - he was shot nine times in a 2000 attack - his album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' sold four million copies in its first two months on release in the US alone.