A copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed against rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye. A group of musicians is seeking over $500,000 over a version of the rapper’s song “Hurricane.” The song appears on his 2021 album Donda, but the lawsuit specifically refers to a version of the song that was performed live a month earlier at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in July 2021.
This live version of “Hurricane” allegedly contained a sample from “MSD PT2” – a one-minute instrumental made by Khalil Abdul Rahman, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff and Josh Mease. They allege they shared the instrumental with Ye and his team in the early stages of the song’s development and were under the assumption they’d be “compensated fairly” for commercial use.
The version with the one-minute sample didn’t make the official version of the album, but they’re still pursuing a copyright infringement suit for the rapper’s performance of it. Irene Lee, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, stated that an expert analysis revealed the performance generated $5.5 million for West, encompassing everything from ticket sales to merchandise, according to NME.
Eduardo Martorell, West’s lawyer, said it was the rapper himself who generated the revenue, not the sample. “We don’t think we should be here. This lawsuit should never have been filed. The artists led my client to believe he had permission to use their music every step of the way,” he said.
The trial began on yesterday on May 4 and is projected to last for a week. West is also expected to testify.
Photo credit: Brandy Hornback
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