A new lawsuit claims Ye (formerly Ye) and Ty Dolla $ign stole a sample featured in their 2023 song “Vultures” — and moreover, that they ripped it off from one of Ty’s longtime friends after overhearing it on a phone call.
The case, the latest in a long list of such accusations against Ye, was filed by producers Jaraed Deal and Marlon Barrow over the hit song, which was the lead single off the controversial rapper’s chart-topping Vultures 1 and reached No. 38 on the Hot 100.
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The lawsuit accuses Ye and Ty (Tyrone William Griffin, Jr.) of unilaterally taking a sample from a 2018 track Deal and Barrow had co-created to shop to recording artists, a move they say shows a “blatant disregard for their artistic contributions and legal rights.”
“This action is not only about unpaid licensing fees and the lack of appropriate credit, but also about the essential right of any artist to determine when, how, and by whom their creative work is used,” lawyers for the pair write in the lawsuit, obtained and first reported by Billboard.
Such accusers often face difficulty proving a star had access to a song in order to steal it; many lawsuits are dismissed on the grounds that an artist likely never even heard the original. But Deal and Barrow say that won’t be a problem for the new case over “Vultures.”
Their lawyers allege Barrow has had a “close personal and professional relationship” with Ty “spanning decades,” and that the star directly asked for a copy of the song after he “heard the sampled works playing in the background” during a phone call.
Barrow says he sent the track to Ty assuming that a full written licensing deal would be signed if it was ever used. Such an agreement was allegedly never reached, but the lawsuit says the sample was used on “Vultures” anyway. Barrow is credited on the song as a producer, but the lawsuit says neither Deal nor Barrow ever consented to the sample or were paid for it.
“This action concerns the knowing, continuous, and blatant unauthorized use of the sampled works,” their attorneys write. “It concerns protecting artistic integrity, enforcing intellectual property rights, and preventing commercial exploitation.”
The new lawsuit is one of more than a dozen such cases that have been filed against Ye over claims of unlicensed sampling or interpolating during his prolific career. Vultures 1 has been a particular lightning rod for litigation, sparking a battle with Donna Summer‘s estate over accusations that her “I Feel Love” was used in “Good (Don’t Die),” and another lawsuit that claimed “Fuk Sumn” prominently featured illegal samples of a trio of Memphis rappers.
In May, Ye lost a jury trial over accusations that he used an uncleared sample in an early version of the Grammy-winning “Hurricane” from Donda, during which he testified to jurors that he’s “very generous” with credit but that “a lot of people try to take advantage of me.”
In the new lawsuit, filed Friday (Nov. 6), Deal and Barrow say it was Ye and Ty who took advantage of them. They say reps for the stars offered a “buy-out settlement offer” at one point in 2024, but that they rejected it as insufficient — and that the stolen sample has remained in the song all the while.
“In addition to the significant financial harm and damages suffered, Plaintiffs have endured severe emotional distress, frustration, and a profound sense of exploitation stemming from the misappropriation of their creative work,” their lawyers write.
Reps for both Ye and Ty did not return requests for comment on Monday (Nov. 9).
