The estate of the late singer Donna Summer filed a lawsuit against Kanye West for unauthоrized use of a sample from the 1977 single “I Feel Love” by the late Queen of Disco.
According to court documents obtained by The Post, West, 46, was denied permission to use the sample for his song “Good (Don’t Did)” after approaching the Summer estate.
They were denied due to the rιsk of “potential degradation to Summer’s legacy,” according to a representative for West. “West is a notoriously contentious public figure whose actions have caused numerous brands and business partners to distance themselves from him.”
Permission was “explicitly denied,” according to the estate, but West and his collaborator Ty Dolla $ign proceeded to utilize the track regardless.
“Defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided to simply steаl ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission in response to this denial,” the 16-page document states. “Defendants re-recorded nearly verbatim the most memorable, crucial segments of Summer’s iconic song ‘Good (Don’t Did)’ utilized it as the hook for their own composition, and released it to the public with the knowledge that they had unlаwfully obtained permission from the song’s rightful owners and had failed to obtain consent.”
Additionally, the document states that upon its inclusion on the highly anticipated “Vultures 1” album, West’s song was “immediately recognized” as a “blatant rip-off” of Summer’s composition.
Multiple music streamers have removed the infringing track “in recognition of Plaintiff’s intellectual property rights” since the lawsuit, but have otherwise refrained from releasing the remaining tracks from the album.
West was contacted by The Post to provide comment.
Current demands from the estate of the 63-year-old “Hоt Stuff” singer include “compensatory damages, maximum statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and disgorgement of any profits earned by West and his Co-Defendants.”
Furthermore, the estate is pursuing an injunction against West in order to prevent the distribution of the infringing recording in the future.
Evidently, this is not the first time that the “Heartless” vocalist has had their composition rejected by another artist.
The rapper reportedly requested permission from Ozzy Osbourne earlier this month to use a sample from one of his compositions. Despite being denied permission, he utilized the track at a listening party.
The frontman of Black Sabbath informed his Instagram followers that West requested a sample of “Wat Pigs” from a 1983 live performance.