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Ultra International Music Publishing LLC said
https://tmsnrt.rs/3ubVFPi "Flowers" from West's album "Donda 2"
includes a sample from Jefferson's 1986 dance song "Move Your
Body" that is repeated at least 22 times.
A representative for West did not immediately respond to a
request for comment, nor did West's label Universal Music Group,
which is not a party to the suit.
An attorney for Ultra International, which owns the rights to
Jefferson's song, said the company had no comment and believes
the lawsuit speaks for itself.
Jefferson is a pioneer of house music from West's hometown of
Chicago. According to the lawsuit, West and his representatives
acknowledged during talks with Jefferson that "Flowers" sampled
"Move Your Body," but did not take a license.
"West advocates for artists’ rights with one hand, yet has no
shame in taking away rights from another artist with the other,"
the lawsuit said.
West released "Donda 2" in February exclusively through his Stem
Player, a handheld device that allows users to isolate and
recombine song parts.
Kano Computing Ltd, a British company that developed the Stem
Player with West and is also named in the lawsuit, did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit said "Flowers" is reportedly about West's ex-wife
Kim Kardashian, whose petition to end their marriage was
approved in March.
Texas pastor David Paul Moten sued West in May for allegedly
sampling one of his sermons without permission.
West has previously settled lawsuits over samples of a Hungarian
singer on the 2013 song "New Slaves;" a child's prayer on the
2016 song "Ultralight Beam;" and a theater work about activist
Marcus Garvey on "Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)," a 2018
collaboration with rapper Kid Cudi.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington, D.C.; Editing by
Alessandra Rafferty and Chris Reese)
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