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Kanye West is being sued by the estate of the late US singer Donna Summer for allegedly “stealing” parts of her music for his new album.
It comes after Ozzy Osbourne said earlier this month he refused West permission to use a Black Sabbath sample because he’s an “antisemite” – but claims the rapper used it anyway.
The lawsuit says West asked for permission to sample from Summer’s hit song I Feel Love – and engaged in “blatant theft” after Summer’s estate “explicitly denied” the request.
Ty Dolla $ign – real name Tyrone Griffin – is also named in the lawsuit filed in California by Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano.
Donna Summer performs in 2008. Pic: Reuters
It said the pair used “instantly recognisable” parts of Summer’s song in their new track Good (Don’t Die), despite their proposal being rejected due to West’s “controversial history”.
The court documents suggest the Summer estate was approached on 31 January to request clearance of the song. This was denied, but the album was released a week later on 10 February.
During this time, representatives for West and Griffin approached Summer’s record label to request clearance of the master recording of the song, which was also denied, court documents allege.
The song was streamed “millions of times” before platforms including Spotify, iTunes and Apple Music were able to remove it, while West and Griffin have performed the song at recorded live concerts with clips online watched millions of times.
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The estate is requesting maximum damages, equating to $150,000 (£118,000) “for each act of infringement”.
“It is about protecting Donna Summer’s own musical legacy and one of popular music’s most influential and ground-breaking songs,” the court documents said.
Summer, a five-time Grammy winner, died in 2012 at the age of 63 and was post-humorously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a year after her death.
Representatives for West and Griffin have been contacted by the Press Association for comment.
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