Kanye West’s innovative use of samples was one of the hallmarks of his early hits — his slowed-down snippets of songs from Chaka Khan, Ray Charles, Daft Punk and more set a sonic path that countless artists would follow from that point on.
But in recent years, as West’s behavior became more unpredictable and often aggressive, so too did his adherence to the legalities of samples, interpolations and straight covers of copyrighted songs and sounds. To cite just recent examples, his “Donda” albums and “Vultures,” his joint 2024 effort with Ty Dolla $ign, were beset with copyright infringement lawsuits from Ozzy Osbourne, the estate of Donna Summer, Marshall Jefferson and others. While some of these suits were settled or dismissed, his response was often defiant: In response to Osbourne’s refusal to clear the sample of Black Sabbath’s song “Iron Man,” West instead replaced it with a sample from his own song “Hell of a Life,” which featured a previously cleared sample of “Iron Man.”
On his new film/ album, “Bully,” released via X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday night amid a flurry of characteristically hateful posts, it seems that all bets are off: The music features slowed-down or even straightforward interpolations, samples or straight covers of such songs as “Close to You,” written by the late Burt Bacharach and Hal David and made famous by the Carpenters; “You Can’t Hurry Love,” written by the legendary Motown Records team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and made famous by the Supremes; a straight cover of Krautrock legends Can’s 1972 song “Vitamin C.” Other apparent samples and interpolations include lesser-known songs like Cortex’s instrumental “Huit octobre 1971,” Poncho Sanchez’s “Bésame Mamá” and Pomme’s “Soleil Soleil,” although the absence of credits makes confirmation challenging. There’s even a sample of the iconic “Haw-haw!” from the “Simpsons” character Nelson Muntz.
Ironically, the song “Melrose” seems to feature a verse from Playboi Carti, with whom West collaborated but is currently sparring with over social media; West also claimed via X that the song “Last Breath” features Peso Pluma. Reps for the singers did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for confirmation; complicating the matter further, West said on X that “half the vocals [on the songs are] AI.”
Variety has asked the publishers of several of the songs in question, as well as West’s rep, Milo Yiannopoulos, whether the songs have been cleared; none immediately responded, but based on recent history it seems likely that the uses were not officially authorized.
Adding to the legal complexity is the fact that “Bully” is not an officially released album, or even an album at all, yet: It is music is culled from a film that he sent out over X (in three different versions), adding to the legal quagmire. While streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have relatively clear legal guidelines, the legalities around X have been a moving target since Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022.
Even if West were to delete the links, that would only solve the immediate issue: Once a work that includes a copyright infringement is made public, the infringement remains — although whether the affected parties consider legal action to be worth their time, effort and expense is their choice.
Variety may have more on the situation as it develops.
