Rapper Trey Songz has been hit with a lawsuit from a reality TV star over an ongoing battle about the use of a catchphrase.

The Bottoms Up hitmaker's legal team allegedly sent a cease and desist letter to Storage Wars star Dave 'The Mogul' Hester in a bid to stop him using the expression 'YUUUP!', which is Songz's "signature sound".

They also requested auction hunter Hester stop using the word on T-shirts and other merchandise.

Hester has now filed his own lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court, claiming Songz's use of the term is "distinct and different" from his own "monosyllabic sounding guttural auction bidding phrase... which is meant to convey the meaning of 'yes'."

The TV star is seeking unspecified damages and a court order banning Songz from "interfering" with his use of the word, which Hester trademarked in September (11), according to Fox News.