Kanye West is as soon as once more navigating authorized challenges. This time, consideration is targeted on his 2022 undertaking, Donda 2, which has drawn scrutiny from copyright holders over using a selected observe.

Billboard studies that West is going through a federal copyright infringement lawsuit for allegedly sampling soul singer Sam Dees’ 1975 music “Just Out Of My Reach” with out permission. Filed September 4 by The GRC Trust on behalf of Ginn music Group, an Atlanta-based writer that controls Dees’ catalog, the go well with facilities on West’s collaboration with Vory, titled “LORD LIFT ME UP.”

A comparability of the 2 songs reveals a marked similarity, particularly within the opening seconds of Dees’ authentic, which West reportedly loops all through the 2-minute, 10-second observe. The go well with names not solely West and Vory—whose full identify is Tavoris Javon Hollins—but in addition Yeezy LLC, highlighting the enterprise entities tied to the discharge.

Implications for Collaborators

The lawsuit additional implicates Kano Computing and its founder, Alex Klein, answerable for creating the Stem Player, the unique platform for streaming Donda 2. The submitting asserts, “At no point did defendants obtain authorization from GRC to use the composition in connection with the infringing work. Defendants continue to exploit and receive profits from the infringing work, thereby violating GRC’s rights in this composition.”

The GRC Trust is in search of each a courtroom injunction and financial restitution, demanding “all profits of defendants… plus all losses of GRC, plus any other monetary advantage gained by the defendants through their infringement.” The case underscores the growing authorized scrutiny artists face when sampling traditional materials, particularly inside tasks distributed on unconventional platforms.

The dispute coincides with anticipation surrounding West’s upcoming documentary, In Whose Name?, set to debut in choose theaters. Developed over greater than a 12 months, the movie examines pivotal moments in West’s life from 2018 to 2024, together with his divorce from Kim Kardashian and his controversial remarks relating to antisemitism, providing an intimate take a look at the intersection of his private struggles and creative ambitions.