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Kanye West’s ‘Bully’ Is Loaded With (Possibly Uncleared) Samples and Covers: ‘Close to You,’ ‘Can’t Hurry Love,’ Apparently a Verse From Playboi Carti, More
Kanye West's new music, released on X, is full of (probably uncleared) samples and covers: 'Close to You,' 'Can't Hurry Love' and lots more.
Kanye West ’s innovative use of samples was one of the hallmarks of his early hits — his slowed-down snippets of songs from Chaka Khan, Ray Charles, Daft Punk and more set a sonic path that countless artists would follow from that point on. To cite just recent examples, his “Donda” albums and “Vultures,” his joint 2024 effort with Ty Dolla $ign, were beset with copyright infringement lawsuits from Ozzy Osbourne, the estate of Donna Summer, Marshall Jefferson and others. On his new film/ album, “Bully,” released via X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday night, it seems that all bets are off: The music features slowed-down or even straightforward interpolations, samples or straight covers of such songs as “Close to You,” written by the late Burt Bacharach and Hal David and made famous by the Carpenters; “You Can’t Hurry Love,” written by the legendary Motown Records team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and made famous by the Supremes; a straight cover of Krautrock legends Can’s 1972 song “Vitamin C.” Other apparent samples and interpolations include lesser-known songs like Cortex’s instrumental “Huit octobre 1971,” Poncho Sanchez’s “Bésame Mamá” and Pomme’s “Soleil Soleil,” although the absence of credits makes confirmation challenging.
Or read this on Variety
