Chuck D is suing his record label ... claiming they stole over a million dollars in commissions, as well as a substantial portion of his music publishing catalog.
In the lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- the Public Enemy MC says after he signed with Reach Global Music and Terrordome Music Publishing in 2001, they took advantage of his lack of business acumen and screwed him out of tons of cash and the rights to his songs.
In the docs, Chuck D claims the record label's created a complex master plan to hide money from him ... including what he says were hidden transactions, false and fraudulent copyright registrations and accounting tricks.
According to the suit, Chuck D says he only became aware of the scheme against him in February, when he finally got his hands on some of the documents that he claims were used to defraud him. Chuck D claims he's lost a 42% stake in his music catalog, as it existed in 2012, forever.
Chuck D is going after the labels for damages in excess of $1 mil ... and he wants full ownership of his songs.