Kanye West Bound 2 Music Video: Yeezus Rapper Sued for Sample He Used
Expect another epic Yeezus rant to be born from this latest bit of news -- Kanye West is being sued for a sample from his hit song, "Bound 2"!
Salon.com is reporting that Rick Spicer, who sang the hook on the Ponderosa Twins Plus One's "Bound 2"-sampled "Bound" as a 12-year-old around 1970, has sued West for copyright infringement. Spicer alleges that West didn't ask his permission to use the sample and violated Spicer's copyright by using the material on Yeezus. Spicer is asking for a trial by jury, which he hopes will award him damages and legal fees as well as an injunction against West's further use of the copyrighted work. Roc-A-Fella, Island Def-Jam, Rhino Entertainment, and their parent company, Universal Music Group, are also named as defendants in the suit, filed in New York state court.
HipHopDX tracked down the original song, which can be heard here:
According to the same website, the lawsuit also stems from the "recognizability" of the sample. "Mr. Spicer's voice is sampled exactly as he recorded it and his voice ... is heard several times," the suit, via the website, says. Although it's not clear whether West knew of the sample -- or its clearance status -- at the time, what is clear is that the suit is currently pending, and this isn't the first time West has been sued for unauthorized samples. "Late last year, TufAmerica, a separate record label, reportedly brought a suit against the rapper for an uncleared sample pulled from New Orleans singer Eddie Bo's 1969 song "Hook and Sling, Part 1," which appeared on two songs from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," reports HipHopDX.
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