Prince shamelessly stole a recording artist away from the producer who discovered Lady Gaga ... and her company is now going after The Purple One in court.

Singer Judith Hill made a name for herself on "The Voice" in 2013. Sony got interested in her. Ditto Jolene Cherry, the famed producer who first eyed Lady Gaga. Sony and Cherry partnered and claim they signed her to an exclusive recording deal.

A few months ago, Sony and Cherry heard rumblings that Hill was meeting with Prince for a recording session. They warned her to stop earlier this month, only to learn that she and Prince recorded an entire album -- 11 songs -- and released it Monday as a free Internet download

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2015/03/27/prince-sued-the-voice-judith-hill-sony-album/#ixzz3VcVYjM8N