Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign are being sued by the estate of the late Donna Summer.
Bruce Sudano, Summer’s widower and the executor of her estate, has filed a lawsuit against the two rappers alleging that they chose to "steal" Summer's 1977 classic "I Feel Love" and use it "without permission" on their song "Good (Don't Die)."
The song features on their recently released collaborative album, "Vultures 1."
The lawsuit claims that Ye and Ty Dolla $ign sent a request to sample "I Feel Love" to Summer's estate back in January, but their request was rejected, in part due to Ye being a "controversial public figure."
Last year, several of Ye's business partners cut ties with him after he made a series of public anti-semitic remarks, which included sharing a swastika on social media and praising Hitler in an interview with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
After being rejected by Summer's estate, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign then sent a request to sample "I Feel Love" to Universal Music Group, but were again denied, the suit claims.
The suit says that the pair then decided to sample "I Feel Love" anyway.
“In the face of these repeated denials, West and co-defendants attempted to get around this roadblock by instead making an unauthorised interpolation," the suit reads. "West and his co-defendants used the song’s iconic melody as the hook for their infringing song and essentially re-recorded almost verbatim key, instantly recognisable portions of 'I Feel Love' using a singer soundalike to Summer, with slight changes to the lyrics (also done without permission).”
The saga surrounding the alleged illegal use of Summer's "I Feel Love" is just one of several controversies that "Vultures 1" has faced.
The album's original artwork had ties to Nazi Germany, while at a listening party for the project in early February, Ye falsely claimed that Jewish people own every hospital, bank, and private school in Los Angeles.
Earlier this month, the album's original distributor FUGA also attempted to have "Vultures 1" removed from streaming platforms, claiming it never agreed to distribute the project.
FUGA said that a long-standing client delivered the album through the platform’s automated processes without permission.
As a result of FUGA's efforts, "Vultures 1" was temporarily removed from streaming platforms, but it was re-uploaded the next day with a new distributor.
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