The estate of US singer Donna Summer has accused rap star Kanye West of “stealing” parts of her hit song I Feel Love for his new album.
In a lawsuit filed in California, Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano claimed West and Ty Dolla $ign – real name Tyrone Griffin – engaged in “blatant theft” after the estate “explicitly denied” their request to use a sample of the song on their collaborative album Vultures 1.
The lawsuit said the pair used “instantly recognisable” parts of Summer’s song in their new track Good (Don’t Die), despite having rejected their proposal due to West’s “controversial history”.
The court documents suggest the Summer estate were approached on January 31st to request clearance of the song, which was denied, but the album was released a week later on February 10th.
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 amassing millions of views.
The estate is requesting maximum damages, equating to 150,000 dollars (£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 but was post-humorously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a year after her death.
A representative for West and Griffin have been contacted for comment.
