Kanye West has been hit with more than a dozen copyright infringement lawsuits over his controversial career. Now one has reached a jury, with the artist now known as Ye expected to testify later this week.
On Monday, a panel of eight jurors heard opening statements in a federal courtroom in downtown Los Angeles. From the plaintiffs’ lead lawyer, they heard Ye should pay $564,046 to four musicians for using an uncleared sample of their work in an early version of his Grammy-winning song “Hurricane,” which was played for tens of thousands of fans at a high-profile listening party for his 10th studio album, Donda, held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in July 2021.
From Ye’s lead lawyer, jurors heard that the Grammy-winning artist was conducting a “test drive” of the sample with “implied consent” from the four musicians. The lawyer said the men were “happy one of the biggest stars” was “experimenting” with their music, and if the sample had been used on the album, which it wasn’t, that is when they would “talk about money.”
The four musicians — Khalil Abdul Rahman, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff, and Josh Mease — are suing Ye through a company they formed in 2024, Artist Revenue Advocates. Their lawsuit initially alleged infringement of both the composition and the sound recording of their one-minute instrumental track, “MSD PT2,” but the case was later narrowed to a single claim involving the use of their recorded sample after it was determined they did not control their writer-side royalties under prior agreements.
Irene Lee, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Ye used the sample without permission or payment. She said her clients were “excited” when they first learned he was interested in their work, but “what they were offered was not fair,” and they never gave consent to any commercial use.
“They trusted that they would be treated professionally,” she said, adding that they voluntarily shared the sample with Ye’s team with the expectation they would be “compensated fairly” if it was used. In the end, she said, the team “ghosted” them after the demo gained traction, leaving them feeling “snubbed and ignored.” Although the sample was not included on Donda, Lee said it was clearly infringed.
According to Lee, the track served as the lead single at the listening event. She said an expert analysis found the performance generated $5.5 million for Ye through ticket sales, merchandise, a $1.25 million streaming deal with Apple, and the fact that Ye wore a jacket onstage that he later released through his apparel deal with Gap.
“This is such a remarkable trial,” Lee told the jury. “We have a clear admission, under oath from Ye, that he actually used our client’s copyright-protected music.”
When it was his turn, Ye’s lawyer, Eduardo Martorell, said the plaintiffs were “trying to jump industries” by seeking a share of apparel profits. He said Ye’s global fame and more than 60 Grammy nominations drove the listening party ticket sales, “not a one-minute and one-second instrumental.”
“We don’t think we should be here,” Martorell told the jurors. “This lawsuit should never have been filed. The artists led my client to believe he had permission to use their music every step of the way.”
Daniel Seeff, the bass player on the sample, was the first witness called to the stand Monday afternoon. “I’m here today to tell our story,” he said. “[MSD PT2] is the basis of ‘Hurricane.’ All the music you hear in ‘Hurricane’ comes from that. It’s repeated.”
It wasn’t clear on Monday when Ye will testify, but the trial is slated to last a week. Ye recently took the stand at a different trial a block away in downtown Los Angeles. During that state trial, Ye appeared to doze off while he was being questioned by the lawyer for Tony Saxon, the man who was awarded $140,000 for injuries suffered while working at the rapper-producer’s $57 million Malibu beach home.
Eric Rojas*
