The estate of Donna Summer is suing Kanye West for allegedly using an unlicensed sample of her song on his most recent album.
According to court records, Kanye’s request to sample the 1977 hit song I Feel Love was turned down by Donna, often known as the Queen of Disco,’s estate.
In recent years, West has gained notoriety due to remarks he has made that have drawn harsh criticism for being far-right or antisemitic.
The rapper has not yet responded to Summer’s estate’s legal action.
He included a sample of I Feel Love in his song Good (Don’t Die).
The song was taken down from streaming providers after it was featured on his album Vultures 1 earlier this month.
A representative for Summer’s estate, Alien Music, allegedly contacted him on January 31, one week before the rapper’s album was released, asking for permission to sample the dance song.
Since West is a well-known contentious public figure whose actions have caused many businesses and commercial partners to distance themselves from him, the estate argued that there could be a “potential degradation to Summer’s legacy” and hence the request was denied.
The lawyer maintains that even if the rapper tried to circumvent the rejected request by using a soundalike of the song rather than the original, copyright infringement nonetheless occurs.
Summer’s estate claims to have contacted streaming platforms after the album’s release, asking that the song be taken down.
A few days later, the album was taken down and re-uploaded sans the song. Nonetheless, the lawsuit argues that because the song was streamed millions of times, it caused harm to the estate.
The 46-year-old rapper, his record label, and collaborator Ty Dolla $ign are also named in the lawsuit, which also requests an injunction to stop the song’s continued release in addition to damages.
The singer, best known for classics like Love to Love You Baby and Hot Stuff, passed away in 2012 from lung cancer.
Giorgio Moroder, who produced and co-wrote I Feel Love, has also been contacted by the BBC to offer his thoughts on the matter.
Not just Summer has turned down Kanye’s demands for samples.
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Kanye attempted to sample a 1983 live version of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man for his Vultures 1 album, but Ozzy Osbourne stopped him earlier in February.
Kanye apparently played a clip from the song at a listening party for the new album, even though he had denied the request.
The final version of his song, Carnival, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard Streaming Songs chart, did not, however, include the sample.
The 75-year-old rock star claimed that he turned down the invitation because he thought Kanye was “anti-Semitic.”
TV personality Sharon Osbourne, Osbourne’s wife, stated in an interview following the song’s release that Kanye “represents hate” in the current day.
Due to abusive tweets, Kanye, now known as Ye, was suspended from Twitter in December 2022. After eight months, he was given access again to the account.
Adidas, the company that makes the US rapper’s Yeezy sneakers, severed their relationship with him after he made anti-Semitic remarks on social media.
Since his initial rise to prominence in 2004, the singer-songwriter has sold 160 million CDs.
