International photographer Jason Bassett has blasted controversidancehall artiste Alkaline on social media for using one of his photos for the cover art of his song 'Nice and Easy', without giving him the necessary credit.

According to Bassett, who wrote a long heartfelt message on his Instagram page, he is prepared to go to war for his work.

"Someone stole my work. I can't speak on the specifics, but I am currently dealing with serious intellectual property theft. Thankfully, I am equipped to deal with it and I have the right people in place. I shot the image back in 2010. Some of you might remember this. Well, a major artiste has stolen the image by using it to advertise their brand and music," he wrote.

The photographer also noted that the deejay can afford to acquire a licence to use the photo through the correct means.

Bassett, who recently privatised his Instagram page, also accused Alkaline's fans of being Internet bullies.

"I myself and the model have been harassed by their fans as if we should be grateful for this theft even without being credited ... this falls to the fault of poor management, poor choices. It has reached a level of disrespect. This is our creative property and we will not be swayed from our objective. We are seeking to be paid for our work and respected," Bassett wrote.

PHOTO STILL IN USE

Up until yesterday when THE STAR visited Alkaline's official Vevo page on YouTube, the photo in question was still available for viewing with the song being promoted raking in over 700,000 views.

When THE STAR contacted Alkaline's team for a response to the threat of lawsuit. His manager/sister Kymona Bartley said.

"I'm not able to say at the moment. We're aware of it, and we're working on it. But I'm not able to give any information further than that," she said.

Alkaline recently hosted his concert 'New Rules' at the National Stadium car park and pulled over 20,000 patrons. It was his first performance in Jamaica in more than two years.