Donna Summer Estate Sues Kanye West for Copyright Infringement Over ‘I Feel Love’ Use
Kanye West’s legal troubles continue as Donna Summer’s estate has sued the rapper for copyright infringement after he allegedly interpolated her song “I Feel Love” without permission.
Ye and Ty Dolla $ign are being sued for their song “Good (Don’t Die)” off their joint album “Vultures 1,” according to a lawsuit filed in California on Tuesday and obtained by TheWrap. West’s labels Yeezy and YZY SND are also named.
The rappers are accused of not only sampling “I Feel Love” for their February album without permission, but Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano claims her estate explicitly denied the pair’s initial request — and they still used it anyway.
“Summer’s estate, however, wanted no association with West’s controversial history and specifically rejected West’s proposed use of Summer’s ‘I Feel Love,'” the lawsuit notes. “In the face of this rejection, defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission.”
It continues, “Defendants re-recorded almost verbatim the key, memorable portions of Summer’s iconic song, used it as the hook for their own song, and released it to the public knowing they had tried and failed to secure legal permission from its rightful owners and had no legal right to do so.”
Summer’s estate is seeking “compensatory damages, maximum statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and disgorgement of any profits earned by West and his co-defendants from their unauthorized use of one of Summer’s and, indeed, one of dance music’s most influential and valuable songs.”
“This action concerns the blatant theft of legendary music artist Donna Summer’s ground-breaking and iconic song, ‘I Feel Love.’ By this action, plaintiff seeks to protect Summer’s musical legacy that made her the undisputed ‘Queen of Disco,'” the suit concludes.
Additionally, “Good (Don’t Die)” is currently no longer available to stream after “Vultures 1” dropped on Feb. 10.
Ye’s team declined to comment when reached by TheWrap.
When the album dropped earlier this month, Summer’s widower spoke out about his late wife’s music being sampled. “Kanye West asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song ‘I Feel Love,’ he was denied … he changed the words, had someone re-sing it or used AI but it’s ‘I Feel Love’ … copyright infringement,” Sudano tweeted.
Summer’s “I Feel Love” dropped in 1977 off her fifth studio album “I Remember Yesterday.”
The iconic singer died in May 2012 at age 63.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
The post Donna Summer Estate Sues Kanye West for Copyright Infringement Over ‘I Feel Love’ Use appeared first on TheWrap.
