Donna Summer's Estate is Suing Kanye West for Unauthorized Music Sampling

On Tuesday, the estate of Donna Summer filed a lawsuit against Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign, claiming that their Vultures 1 album track Good (Don't Die) illegally used her 1977 song I Feel Love. The rapper reportedly requested to utilize a portion of the song on his album Vultures 1 album in January 2024, but he was eventually turned down, according to court records that TMZ was able to get on Tuesday. According to the site, the estate, which is still in possession of some copyright, says that West's prior controversy is the reason they turned down his request.

On Tuesday, the song—which has amassed over 8 million plays—was inaccessible on Spotify due to an error notice stating, "This content is not available." One of the most important songs from Summer's album I Remember Yesterday is I Feel Love, which she co-wrote with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. It is regarded as one of the first examples of electronic dance music. The song I Feel Love, with Summer's blissful sighs and spare words, was intended to symbolize the times ahead. On the day of the album's release, Summer's official Instagram Story was updated with a copyright infringement claim made by the estate for the first time. According to Page Six, the rapper "asked permission" to use the song, but it was "denied."Then he "changed the words, had someone re-sing it or used AI." "Copyright infringement!!!" was added to the post.

A few weeks ago, Ozzy Osbourne said that he was thinking of taking Ye to court after the rapper claimed to have copied a Black Sabbath song in Vultures, Volume 1. In a tweet on February 9 on X Osbourne said, "[Kanye] asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of 'Iron Man' from the US festival without vocals & was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many." He further added, "[Ye] went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!". Ye and Ty Dolla $ign performed songs from the album on February 8 at Chicago's United Center, according to Billboard. The "Iron Man" sample was used in the song "Carnival" in videos from the event that were shared on social media, however, it is absent from the Spotify version of the song.

For West, who has been sued several times for unlawfully sampling or interpolating in his songs, these accusations are nothing new. He was sued in 2022 for allegedly illegally sampling a song by the groundbreaking rap group Boogie Down Productions in his song Life of the Party. He was also sued in another case for allegedly using a clipped portion of Marshall Jefferson's 1986 house track Move Your Body in the song Flowers. Finally, he was sued in a different case by a Texas pastor for allegedly using a sample from his sermon that was recorded in Come to Life.