Kanye West — the rapper known as Ye — was found liable by a Los Angeles federal jury for more than $400,000 for having used an unauthorized sample of other musicians’ work in an early version of his Grammy Award-winning song “Hurricane” that he played for fans at a live event, according to court papers obtained Thursday.
The jury returned on the sixth day of trial Tuesday, finding West liable for $176,153 in damages, and his companies Yeezy LLC, Yeezy Supply and Mascotte Holdings liable for roughly $260,000 in damages.
West, who has been hit with over a dozen copyright infringement lawsuits over his career, was sued by Artist Revenue Advocates, a company formed in 2024 to bring copyright lawsuits on behalf of artists.
In the recent case, four music producers — Khalil Abdul-Rahman (known as DJ Khalil), Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff and Josh Mease — alleged that West did not have permission to sample elements of their minute-long instrumental, “MSD PT2.”
Evidence showed West sampled the plaintiffs’ copyright-protected track in a demo version of “Hurricane” 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 last week 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 the infringement claim although it was not used in the final album version of “Hurricane.”
Lawyers for Artist Revenue Advocates argued 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.
A hearing for post-trial motions was set for July 24.
Last month, 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.