Kanye West Faces More Bad News With New Lawsuit

Kanye "Ye" West is no stranger to legal drama, especially when it comes to his music. In 2020, Ye settled a copyright infringement lawsuit stemming from his sampling a child named Natalie's prayer in "Ultralight Beam," which was released as part of 2016's "The Life of Pablo." Natalie's adoptive parents argued that no parental consent was given, nor any financial compensation, however the terms of the financial compensation in settling weren't disclosed, per AllHipHop. Then just in April, Ye's sample of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" on his 2010 song "Power" sparked another lawsuit, with Declan Colgan Music Ltd claiming that Universal Music Group has underpaid streaming royalties for the use of that song, per Variety. 

Of course, Ye's personal life has also played out in the courts. In August, he legally changed his name to Ye. And lest we forget the biggest legal battle of his personal life — his divorce from Kim Kardashian. In February, the divorce proceedings became rather acrimonious when Ye petitioned the court to deny Kardashian's wish to be declared legally single. In March, his motion was denied, per BBC, and Kardashian legally dropped West from her surname.  

Now, the "Jesus Walks" rapper is finding himself embroiled in another legal battle, this time with a pastor, and it's shaping up to be a holy mess.   

Kanye "Ye" West is being sued by a Dallas pastor for copyright infringement according to court documents shared by Reuters. Bishop David P. Moten has accused the "Gold Digger" rapper of using unauthorized samples of a recorded sermon on "Come to Life," which appears on the "Donda" album. Moten claims that a sample from one of his sermons makes up more than 20% of the song. He stated, per Billboard, that more than one minute of the five-minute track was ripped directly from his sermon. Moten wrote, "Defendants willfully and without the permission or consent of Plaintiff extensively sampled portions of the Sermon." He also claimed Ye had "an alarming pattern and practice of willfully and egregiously sampling sound recordings of others without consent or permission." Moten is also seeking damages from G.O.O.D Music, Def Jam Recordings, and UMG Recordings.

The alleged unauthorized sample can be heard at the start of the song, with a rousing voice saying, "My soul cries out, 'Hallelujah', And I thank God for saving me I, I thank God." Another sample from the same recording says, "Hallelujah (Thank You, Jesus) Hallelujah (Yes) Hallelujah..."

Ye has yet to respond to the suit, and his normally busy Instagram has been wiped of all content as of late.