Kanye West faces copyright infringement lawsuit over Donda 2 sample
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Kanye West is yet again being sued over alleged copyright infringement on his latest album, Donda 2.
Here is everything you need to know.
Kanye West is being sued over Donda 2 sample
On Wednesday it was reported that Kanye West may be dragged to court again for the unauthorized use of a sample on his record, Donda 2.
As per the reports, a lawsuit is filed against the rapper in New York’s federal court.
Reportedly, West sampled musician Marshall Jefferson’s 1986 club hit Move Your Body aka The House Music Anthem without clearance in his song titled Flowers.
Jefferson’s publisher Ultra International Music Publishing mentioned that the sample is ‘repeated at least 22 times throughout’ West’s song
Jefferson wrote and performed Move Your Body which reached number 34 on Billboard’s Dance Singles Sales chart list in August 1986.
The song originally became a hit in Chicago, Jefferson’s hometown, before Trax Records released it in July 1986.
The 62-year-old songwriter said to Billboard, ‘I’ve been sampled thousands of times. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Getting done by another artist, a BLACK artist, a fellow Chicagoan without acknowledgment is disappointing.’
The court filing mentioned ‘West advocates for artists’ rights with one hand, yet has no shame in taking away rights from another artist with the other.’
West, who legally changed his name to Ye dropped Donda 2 exclusively via his Stem Player in February.
The suit also lists Alex Klein, as a defendant including his organization called Kano Computing Limited.
The British entrepreneur co-created Stem Players which reportedly are retailed at $200 each.
West has previously claimed to have sold 11,000 devices which generated him an estimated revenue of $2.2 million.
Kanye West was accused of copyright infringement before
The recent lawsuit marks the second time, Kanye West has been accused of using samples without permission in the sequel of Donda.
In May, Texas pastor David Moten filed a complaint against Ye claiming that his track Come to Life includes a substantial portion of a sermon he delivered at a Victoria, Texas church in 2011.
The outcome of the suit is yet to be announced.
Additionally, the 45-year-old rapper was hit with a lawsuit in 2019. Ronald Oslin Bobb-Semple claimed that his voice was unlawfully used on ‘Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2).’
However, it was settled last year in January.
Kanye West sued for not seeking permission to sample Marshall Jefferson track – Kanye West is facing a lawsuit after not seeking approval before sampling Marshall Jefferson's ‘Move Your Body' on… https://t.co/msbPolYDTp pic.twitter.com/nb3QgtnInw
— Echoingwalls Music (@Echoingwalls) July 1, 2022
