Kanye West is being sued by a record label for adding Life Of The Party, his collaboration with Andre 3000, to his Stem Player device without getting permission from the company that owns the rights to a song he sampled for his piece.
In Life Of The Party, West, 45, sampled the track from Boogie Down Productions’ 1987 song South Bronx, featuring hip-hop legend KRS-One.
The song was originally released by now-defunct label B-Boy Records, whose catalog is overseen by the Phase One Network company, according to Discogs.
Latest: Kanye West, 45, is being sued by a record company for adding Life Of The Party, his collaboration with Andre 3000, to his Stem Player device without getting permission from the company that owns a track he sampled for his song. He was photographed last month in Paris
The company that owns the rights to the track said in legal documents reviewed by TMZ that West never obtained the rights to sample South Bronx for Life Of The Party.
West included the song as a bonus track from Donda which he released on the Stem Player. The record company said West and his team used the song in publicity for the device.
West and his business associate Alex Klein earned about $2.2 million after moving about 11,000 Stem Player units on the first day of its release, the record company said in court documents, adding that West’s team initially tried to license it, but eventually took up his offer.
In the lawsuit, the record company is asking the court to stop West from further sampling the track and pay them any profits accrued from its use.
West included the song as a bonus track from Donda which he released on the Stem Player
In Life Of The Party, West sampled the track from Boogie Down Productions’ 1987 song South Bronx, featuring hip-hop legend KRS-One (pictured last year in New York)
West is coming off a tumultuous October in which he made headlines after making a series of anti-Semitic remarks, which led to a number of companies cutting ties with him. He was pictured at an event in Nashville last month
West is coming off a tumultuous October in which he made headlines after making a series of anti-Semitic remarks, which led to a number of companies cutting ties with him.
The race-related controversies began on Oct. 3 when he and conservative commentator Candace Owens donned tops that read White Lives Matter during a Paris Fashion Week showcase for his Yeezy line.
West faced restrictions on his social media sites after he tweeted on Oct. 8, “I’m a little sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m gonna die con 3 On The JEWS… Funniest, is that I cannot be. Anti-Semitic because black people are actually Jewish too…you played with me and tried to test anyone who opposes your agenda.
The professional fallout from West’s repeated statements about anti-Semitism included Adidas cutting ties with him on October 25 over his conduct.
Foot Locker and Gap have also pulled Yeezy products from their shelves, while fashion stalwarts including Vogue magazine and Balenciaga have publicly distanced themselves from the rapper/fashion designer.
Talent agency CAA removed West from its roster, while a documentary about West made by studio MRC was shelved.
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