Ty Dolla Sign has settled a lawsuit that accused him of using an unauthorized sample on Ye’s Vultures 1, but the case against the artist formerly known as Kanye West will proceed.
As reported by Billboard, Memphis rappers Criminal Manne, DJ Squeeky, and the representatives for the late Kilo G have reached a preliminary settlement with Ty Dolla Sign and Create Music Group over the allegedly unauthorized use of their 1994 track “Drink a Yak (Part 2)” on the Vultures 1 song “Fuk Sumn.”
The group of rappers filed the lawsuit against Ty Dolla Sign, Ye, Yeezy Record Label LLC, and Create Music Group last year.
“The parties have resolved their differences and are presently negotiating a confidential settlement agreement,” the legal team representing the Memphis rappers said. As part of the preliminary settlement, they’ve agreed to “resolve” the claims against Ty and Create Music Group, but “not co-defendants Kanye Omari West [professionally known as] YE or Yeezy Record Label LLC.”
The details of the settlement, such as any monetary compensation or retroactive songwriter credits, have not been shared. When the lawsuit was filed against the musicians and publishing companies last year, the legal team representing the Memphis rappers said it made “numerous unsuccessful attempts” to resolve the matter.
It’s not the only trouble Ye has faced over the use of allegedly uncleared samples on the two Vultures albums he released as part of a duo with Ty Dolla Sign.
Earlier this year, German singer-songwriter Alice Merton accused Ye of using an unauthorized sample of her song “Blindside” on the Vultures 2 deluxe edition track, “Gun to My Head.” Ye’s team asked her to approve the sample, but she rejected the request because of Ye’s anti-Semitic and Nazi-endorsing comments. In the lawsuit, Merton noted that she is a descendant of Holocaust survivors.
Ye and Ty were also called out by Portishead member Geoff Barrow for sampling the band’s 2008 song “Machine Gun” on the song “Field Trip.” Last year, Ozzy Osbourne expressed his displeasure with Ye using a live version of the Black Sabbath track “Iron Man” on an earlier version of “Carnival,” specifically calling out Ye for his antisemitic comments that “caused untold heartache to many.”
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