Rapper Jay-Z is suing downtown Mobile’s A Spot of Tea restaurant, and in the process, bringing the local bar scene into the national spotlight.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers investigated a portion of 310 Dauphin St., the address that houses the restaurant as well as Club Insanity roughly a year ago, Spot of Tea Owner Tony Moore said.

“The guy from ASCAP came in during the middle of my lunch and rudely made his way, to put it politely, through my line of customers who were trying to pay and get out to verbally assault, in my opinion, Angel, the general manager there,” Moore said. “When I got there they said we were playing all sorts of music illegally (at Club Insanity). I cussed them out and they noted that in their report that they said they felt threatened. That’s when the heels really got dug in.”

The confrontation could have been handled different, Moore said.

” You don’t interrupt someone’s business like that. You handle those matters in a more civil way. If they came back today I’d do the same thing again.”

Moore says not only is the lawsuit being filed against the wrong entity, but to his knowledge, doesn’t believe Club Insanity, which is located in the same building as his restaurant, has ever played any music they’re not legally licensed to play.

“My contention is Mike (the manager of Club Insanity) and them haven’t played any music they shouldn’t. They’re suing me and we (Spot of Tea) don’t even play that kind of music,” Moore said. “We play muzak.”

Moore says he holds two licenses, one from licensing company BMI and one from a similar company, Muzak, which allow him to play roughly six-and-a half million songs. Some songs from BMI’s catalog and some of ASCAP’s eight-and-a-half million licensed songs overlap, Moore noted.

The licenses are issued to 310 Dauphin Street under the name Tony Moore because Club Insanity and Spot of Tea operate under the same address, according to the property owner.

Some of the songs ASCAP officials noted as being played illegally include “Mary Jane” by Rick James, “Erotica” by Madonna, “Rock With You” by Michael Jackson and “Umbrella” by Rihanna and Jay-Z, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also asks that Moore/A Spot of Tea pay statutory damages ranging from $750 and $30,000 for each violation.

James W. Gewin and Dylan C. Black of the Birmingham, Ala. law firm Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP are representing Jay-Z.