Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign unveiled Vultures 1 on Saturday (Feb. 10) after months of false starts. As of Sunday (Feb. 11) morning, the 16-track album sits in the No. 1 spot on Apple’s Top Albums chart, and the visual for “Talking / Once Again” featuring North West sits atop the Top Videos chart.
However, hours after its release, a discrepancy over an uncleared sample cropped up. The estate of the late singer Donna Summer claims that West moved forward without their consent when utilizing an interpolation of one of her hits for “Good (Don’t Die).” In an Instagram Story post, they wrote, “Kanye West asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song ‘I Feel Love.’ He was denied. He changed the words, had someone re-sing it, or used AI, but it’s ‘I Feel Love.’ Copyright infringement!”
The disco-era diva was recently posthumously presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Grammys Special Merit Award ceremony. The 1977 record “I Feel Love” is one of her six tracks that cracked the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 6 and spending a total of 23 weeks on the chart.
In addition to Summer’s estate, the project has also come under fire from the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. In a tweet, Osbourne claimed that West was antisemitic following a string of controversial public remarks. The “War Pigs” musician explained that was the reason behind his not wanting his music associated with the 24-time Grammy Award winner.
“Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of ‘Iron Man’ from the US Festival without vocals and was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many. He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!” fired off the Black Sabbath frontman on Friday (Feb. 9).
As previously reported by REVOLT, the producer-rapper issued a public apology for his commentary, which dates back to 2022 and led to a rift between him and the Jewish community. In short, he said he never intended to hurt anyone and that he was committed to making amends and promoting unity.