AceShowbiz - 50 Cent unleashed a profanity-laden tirade at Shyne this week after prank calling his rap rival during a telephone meeting with his Def Jam record label bosses. The "In Da Club" hitmaker decided to poke fun at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former protege after Shyne took aim at 50 Cent on a recent freestyle.

In video footage of the stunt, filmed by 50 Cent and posted on his website ThisIs50.com, the cheeky star can be seen calling Shyne's offices numerous times and using a fake name as he pretends to be a label executive, asking to be put through to the rapper. When he reaches Shyne, he asks, "I was just wondering, what is your real issue with 50?"

A confused Shyne, who was released from prison last year after serving eight years of a decade-long sentence, is then heard mumbling a response before a Def Jam employee hangs up the phone. 50 tries to get in touch again and after several failed attempts, he finally speaks to Shyne and launches into a foul-mouthed rant, accusing the Belize native of insulting him to attract attention to his own flagging career.

He says, "The 50 s**t with Shyne and s**t like that. I think that s**t is a hoax. I think it's a way you try to gain attention in some ways because a n**ga ain't been f**king with you for 15 years. Like you been gone 10 years so he couldn't have had no issues." Shyne was jailed in 2001 for his part in a 1999 nightclub shooting, which also involved P. Diddy and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. He is attempting to relaunch his career after signing a deal with Def Jam Records earlier this year.