Kanye West sued by Alice Merton over unauthorised sample in ‘Vultures 2’

nme.com:

Kanye West is facing a lawsuit from German singer-songwriter Alice Merton over a sample of one of her songs being featured in his ‘Vultures 2’ album without permission.The singer-songwriter is best recognised for her 2017 hit song ‘No Roots’, and has reportedly filed a new lawsuit against the rapper while in California on Tuesday (March 25).In the suit, she claims that Ye sampled her 2022 song ‘Blindside’ without permission.

The use of the sample allegedly featured in his song with Kid Cudi called ‘Gun To My Head’, which appeared on his collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign, ‘Vultures 2’.Merton first became aware of the sample usage after the rapper previewed the track at a listening party in December 2023.

She claims that he did not ask for permission beforehand, and only reached out for clearance in February 2024.At the time, BMG – Merton’s publisher – did not give permission and later explained that the use of the sample was denied as West’s “values are contrary to our values,” (via Stereogum).

They also drew attention to the fact that Merton is a descendant of Holocaust survivors and is “unwilling to compromise her personal beliefs and wanted not to be associated with” West after he repeatedly shared that he identifies as a Nazi.While the song did not feature on the initial tracklist for ‘Vultures 2’, it did appear on the album’s digital deluxe edition.Elsewhere in the filing, Merton has claimed that the song being omitted from the album led to her receiving threats from Ye’s fans, and accused West’s team of ignoring a cease and desist letter from BMG.This isn’t the first time that West has found himself in hot water over unauthorised samples on his ‘Vultures’ albums.