Kanye West Loses Lawsuit Over Uncleared Sample, Must Pay Six Figures

Kanye West just lost another court battle. A sample got him in trouble.

Full story below…

The rapper now known as Ye played his then-unreleased album Donda to 40,000 fans at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in July 2021. The version of ‘Hurricane‘ featured a sample of ‘MSD PT2,’ an instrumental composed by four musicians.

Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Sam Ba rsh, Josh Mease, and Dan Seeff made the instrumental in 2018. Ye eventually removed the sample from the finished version of ‘Hurricane.’ The four men received songwriting credits for interpolation.

But the plaintiffs argued they deserved compensation for the sample being used at the listening party. The event made money through ticket sales and merchandise. “There was no deal, no agreement, no licence, and no clearance,” their lawyer argued.

A jury sided with the plaintiffs. They will receive a six-figure sum.

Ye appeared in person during the hearing. “I pride myself on giving people what they deserve,” he told the court. “I feel like a lot of people try to take advantage of me.”

A representative for Ye called the outcome a “failed shakedown.”

This marks Ye’s second lawsuit loss this year. He previously had to pay $140,000 to a handyman for unpaid renovations at his Malibu mansion.

A costly lesson. An expensive sample. Another legal L.