Kanye West is being sued over samples used in his 2005 hit single “Gold Digger.”
The rapper-producer is facing a lawsuit from Trena Steward and Lorenzo Pryor, who filed a civil complaint against West, Roc-A-Fella Records, The Island Def Jam Music Group, and others for copyright infringement among other claims.
Steward and Pryor allege that West stole a sample from a song they wrote, Thunder Lightning’s “ Bumpin’ Bus Stop ” for use in “Gold Digger.”
Specifically, the pair are targeting the use of the lyrics “Get Down,” “Step Up,” “It’s the Hottest Thing” and “Step Up Front.” Said lyrics were written and performed by David Pryor (the father of the two claimants) on “Bumpin’ Bus Stop.”
In their lawsuit, Trena Steward and Lorenzo Pryor claim West and other defendants have “engaged in the repeated willful infringement of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted music on a massive scale by sampling Plaintiffs’ copyrighted music.”
The claim was filed in California last week, and Steward and Pryor are seeking $150,000 per infringement plus attorneys’ fees.
There’s no word on the lawsuit from the West camp yet. We assume the big-spending rapper, who blew $1 million on girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s birthday last year and just sold his own mansion for a cool $3.3 million , should be able to cope. He could always reconsider that baby photo offer if things become tight.
You can watch the video for “Gold Digger” below:
