A man reported to be a member of the entourage of 50 Cent was shot in the leg in the lobby of a New York radio station on Monday night during the rapper’s on-air appearance.

50 Cent, nee Curtis Jackson, was at WQHT-FM promoting his new album The Massacre and discussing his decision to drop his protégé, The Game, also known as Jayceon Taylor, from his hip-hop clique G-Unit when the shooting occurred.

"As far as motive we don't have anything yet. They were exiting the building, they got into a dispute and somebody pulled out a weapon," a police spokesman told Reuters.

The injured man was hospitalized and is reported to be in stable condition.

The shooting came on the same day hip-hop performer Lil’ Kim went on trial accused of lying to a grand jury investigating a 2001 shooting outside the same radio station Hot 97 in Manhattan.

The extravagant rapper, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, and her friend Monique Dopwell were indicted for making false statements about their knowledge of the shooters and the motive behind the incident, in which one man was injured, and may face up to 30 years in jail if found guilty. The two other defendants, manager Damion Butler and bodyguard Suif Jackson, were indicted for firing guns and are currently serving prison terms on weapons charges.

In the process of selecting jury, that began last week, many prospective jurors were eliminated because of what presiding U.S. District Judge Gerald Lynch called "significant negative stereotypes" about rap music, reported Chronic Magazine.

Last August, Ms Jones complained the case was part of the government's continued denouncement of the hip-hop industry.