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How Many Times Has Ye Been Sued Over Sampling? Here’s Every Lawsuit

Kanye West has faced at least 14 sampling lawsuits accusing Ye of stealing copyrighted music without permission. Here's a full list of every lawsuit.

The accusation: A company that owns the rights to the music of Boogie Down Productions claimed in its lawsuit that Ye had used the pioneering rap group’s 1986 song “South Bronx” – a “seminal track in the American hip-hop lexicography” – in his “Life of the Party” without permission. How it ended: Ye fought back, asking a judge to dismiss the case with an unusual argument: That Boogie Down founder KRS-One had publicly promised all future rappers that “you will not get sued” if you sample the group’s music. The accusation: A company that owns the rights to an instrumental track called “MSD PT2” alleged in its lawsuit that Ye had sampled the song for his “Hurricane” and “Moon” — both of which reached the top 20 on the Hot 100 when they were released in 2021 on Donda.

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