Ye Was Told Not to Sample Songs, Did It Anyway

Ozzy Osbourne, Donna Summer's estate allege copyright infringement
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 12, 2024 9:34 AM CST
Updated Feb 28, 2024 1:30 AM CST
Ye Was Told Not to Sample Songs, Did It Anyway
Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
UPDATE Feb 28, 2024 1:30 AM CST

Donna Summer's estate is now suing Ye and Ty Dolla $ign over their collaboration "Good (Don't Die)," which the estate has accused of sampling Summer's "I Feel Love" without permission. The copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the husband of Summer, who died in 2012, says Ye's representatives tried to get permission but that the estate rejected that request because it "wanted no association with West's controversial history." The suit alleges Ye went on to "steal" the song instead, the AP reports.

Feb 12, 2024 9:34 AM CST

Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of Donna Summer say rapper Ye/Kanye West was denied permission to sample the artists' songs but went ahead and did so anyway. Osbourne fumed Friday on X and Instagram, claiming the rapper asked to sample part of a Black Sabbath song about three weeks ago. Ye was denied "because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many," Osbourne wrote, per People. He identified the recording as a 1983 live festival performance of "War Pigs," though it sounded much more like "Iron Man" minus vocals when it was sampled in a performance of "Talking/Once Again," a new single from Ye and Ty Dolla $ign's hip-hop duo, ¥$, at an album listening event at Chicago's United Center on Thursday, per TMZ.

"We are considering legal action," read a statement from the office of Osbourne's wife, Sharon Osbourne, per USA Today. Sharon, who was raised Jewish, told TMZ that Ye is a "disrespectful antisemite" and "represents hate." In response, Ye's team highlighted an infamous 1982 interview in which Ozzy Osbourne praised Hitler. He had "charisma in a bad way, and I kind of admired him," Osbourne said, though he also said, "I know it was bad, what he did." Ye did not respond to Summer's estate, which claimed the 1977 song "I Feel Love" was sampled on ¥$'s new track "GOOD (DON'T DIE)," even though permission was withheld, per USA Today. (Ye's recent comments led his interview with Bill Maher to be buried.)

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