Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign sued for ‘VULTURES 1’ copyright infringement
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have been hit with a new lawsuit from a number of Memphis hip-hop artists. Legal documents obtained by TMZ show that Criminal Manne, producer DJ Squeeky and the estate of late rapper Kilo G have sued for copyright infringement over a track from VULTURES 1.
The suit claims that ‘Fuck Sumn’ samples their country rap song ‘Drank a Yak (Part 2)’ and was allegedly used without permission. Criminal Manne alleges his vocals can be heard at the beginning of the track, where he raps, “Smokin’ on a junt, with my n-ggas drinkin’ O.E.” It’s also claimed that Kilo G is later sampled in the song, rapping, “Stop off at the liquor store, get your yak, then we headed for the indo.”
According to the plaintiffs, they tried to complete sample clearances negotiations through Alien Music Services when VULTURES 1 was released, but got left out to dry in June. The Memphis rappers are requesting damages, claiming they haven’t been paid after months of no contact.
This isn’t the first time Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have faced sample clearance issues surrounding their VULTURES 1 album. The estate of legendary disco singer Donna Summer sued Ye for “blatant theft” of ‘I Feel Love’ on ‘Good (Don’t Die)’ earlier this year.
“Kanye West asked permission to use Donna Summer song, ‘I Feel Love,’ [but] he was denied,” her estate wrote on social media. While Ye tried to work his way around the infringement, it would seem that her estate realised what was going on: “He changed the words, had someone re-sing it, or used AI but it’s ‘I Feel Love’… copyright infringement!”
Not only that, but Ye was blasted by Ozzy Osbourne for sampling a Black Sabbath song on the album, calling him out for being antisemitic and making clear that he wanted to distance himself from the Chicago rapper.
“Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of ‘Iron Man’ from the US festival without vocals and was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many,” the singer wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!”
Whether Kanye West is capable of escaping the headlines remains to be seen, but we can be sure that kawyers will heavily vet any new album fro the star.