Kanye West is being sued by the estate of Donna Summer over the claim he used one of her songs on his latest album without consent. The “Hot Stuff” singer passed away in 2012 at the age of 63.
According to Reuters, the family of the “Queen of Disco” filed a federal lawsuit in California on Feb. 27. The lawsuit accused West of using parts of her 1977 song “I Feel Love” for his new album without permission.
The lawsuit alleges that the “Donda” artist and singer Ty Dolla $ign incorporated “instantly recognizable” parts of Summer’s song in the single “Good (Don’t Die)” for the duo’s collaboration, “Vultures 1.” Furthermore, the singers reportedly sampled the song after their request to sample the song was “explicitly denied” by the estate.
“Despite this denial,” says the lawsuit. “Defendants shamelessly used instantly recognizable
portions of Summer’s hit song, ‘I FEEL LOVE,’ on their recently released collaborative album, ‘Vultures 1,’ and in recorded live concerts.”
“Vultures 1” dropped on Feb. 10, and according to Billboard, the album is currently the best-selling album in the United States. Yeezy Record Label, LLC, the company Yzy Snd, and 10 Does are also listed in the lawsuit.
According to attorney Larry Stein, Ye and Ty approached Summer’s estate executor, Bruce Sudano, on Jan. 31, 2024, to obtain permission to sample “I Feel Love,” but Sudano declined their request. The album reportedly used instead an interpolation of the song instead of the actual track with a “soundalike” singer, but the estate is claiming it’s still copyright infringement. The estate also contacted streamers such as Apple and Spotify, and “Good (Don’t Die)” was removed from the album on those platforms.
West was reportedly denied use of the song due to his past anti-Semitic comments. The 46-year-old apologized in Hebrew after he said he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people” as he claimed he was blackballed in the entertainment industry.
“The Summer Estate not only considered the immense commercial value of the ‘I Feel Love’ composition, but also the potential degradation to Summer’s legacy,” says the lawsuit. “West is known as a controversial public figure whose conduct has led numerous brands and business partners to disassociate from him.”
West has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
