Ye has testified in federal court that he followed the proper process to clear a disputed sample connected to an early version of Hurricane, the Grammy-winning track from his 2021 album Donda.
The artist formerly known as Kanye West appeared in court in Los Angeles on Wednesday as part of an ongoing copyright trial involving a demo version of the song that was played during a pre-release listening event in July 2021.
Producers allege uncleared sample use
According to Billboard, producers DJ Khalil, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff and Josh Mease claim an uncleared sample of their instrumental track MSD PT2 was used in the early version of Hurricane.
The final version of Hurricane, featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby, later won the Grammy Awards prize for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
Ye says his team followed standard process
During his testimony, Ye said his team attempted to clear the sample through normal industry channels and argued the lawsuit lacks merit.
“We went through the normal process to get it taken care of,”
“I pride myself on giving people what they deserve.”
Appearing in court wearing a grey suit, he also argued that disputes involving his music are sometimes driven by his public profile and financial success.
“I feel like a lot of people try to take advantage of me,”
“As I sit in this courtroom today, I just think people are trying to make more than they otherwise would because it’s me.”
Part of longer history of copyright disputes
The lawsuit is one of more than a dozen copyright cases Ye has faced during his career related to alleged uncleared samples and interpolations in his music catalogue.
However, this marks the first time one of those disputes has gone to full trial rather than being settled beforehand.
Hurricane became one of Donda’s biggest tracks
Released as part of Donda in 2021, Hurricane became one of the album’s most commercially successful songs, helped by guest appearances from The Weeknd and Lil Baby.
The album itself debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was one of the year’s most-streamed releases.
The trial is ongoing.
