The estate of American disco legend Donna Summer filed a lawsuit against Ye, the rap star formerly known as Kanye West, accusing him of incorporating her 1977 hit ‘I Feel Love ‘into his new album.
The lawsuit filed in California, claimed that West , his record label and collaborator Ty Dolla $ign real name Tyrone Griffin engaged in blatant theft after the estate explicitly denied their request to use a sample of the song on their collaborative album Vultures 1.
It stated that the pair used instantly recognisable parts of Summer’s song in their new track Good (Don’t Die), despite having rejected their proposal due to West’s “controversial history”.
The song appeared on his album Vultures 1 earlier this month (February 2024), but has since been removed from streaming services.
An attorney for Summer's estate claims an entity called Alien Music, representing West, approached him on 31st/ January/2024, a week before the release of the rapper's album, to request clearance to sample the disco hit.
The request was denied as the estate said there could be a "potential degradation to Summer's legacy"
The attorney claimed the rapper attempted to use a soundalike of the song instead of the original to get around the denied request, but stressed that it is still copyright infringement.
The estate contacted streaming services requesting the song be removed. The album was removed a few days later and re-uploaded without the track. However, the lawsuit claims the song harmed the estate as it was streamed millions of times.
It is now asking for “compensatory damages, maximum statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and disgorgement of any profits earned by West and his CoDefendants from their unauthorized use of the star’s song.
Summer, best known for hits including Love to Love You Baby and Hot Stuff, died of lung cancer in 2012.She is not the only artist to deny sample requests by Kanye, Ozzy Osbourne also blocked Kanye from sampling a 1983 live version of Black Sabbath's Iron Man on his Vultures 1 album.
Meanwhile Ye legally changed his name from Kanye West in 2021. Over the past two years the rapper has become known for his repeated antisemitic comments which have lost him numerous partnerships and brand deals.
