Rapper Kanye West — also known as Ye — is facing claims in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom this week that he should pay more than $500,000 for using an allegedly unauthorized sample of other musicians’ work in an early version of his Grammy Award-winning song “Hurricane.”
West, who has been hit with over a dozen copyright infringement lawsuits over his career, is being sued by Artist Revenue Advocates, a business entity formed in 2024 by four music producers — Khalil Abdul-Rahman (known as DJ Khalil), Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff and Josh Mease — who contend West did not have permission to sample elements of their minute-long instrumental, “MSD PT2.”
According to the plaintiffs, West owes $564,046 to the company for use of the copyright-protected track, which he allegedly sampled in a demo version of “Hurricane” that was played for thousands of fans at a listening party for West’s 10th studio album, “Donda,” at a stadium in Atlanta five years ago.
West testified for about an hour Wednesday during the trial in Los Angeles federal court, telling jurors that he is often taken advantage of even though he views himself as an extremely collaborative artist.
The sample was the subject of an infringement claim although it was not used in the final album version of “Hurricane.”
Lawyers for Artist Revenue Advocates contend that West refused to compensate the producers for sampling their music in the demo.
West’s attorney countered that the rapper was led to believe he had permission to use “MSD PT2.”
The version of “Hurricane” that appeared on “Donda” earned a Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance in 2022.
Last week in a state court a block away from the federal courthouse, a judge affirmed a $140,000 jury award to a handyman who alleged he was not fully compensated for work overseeing a renovation project at West’s Malibu mansion.
Plaintiff Tony Saxon maintained in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that West, 48, agreed to pay him $20,000 per week under a 2021 deal, but only turned over one $20,000 payment and $100,000 for constructions costs.