Kanye West Sued for Sampling…Again!

As busy as rapper Kanye West has been with his recently born daughter, North, and his socialite fiancé, Kim Kardashian (and her family), Kanye has another problem on his hands. West is being sued for sampling a vocal track of soul singer, Ricky Spicer from The Ponderosa Twins Plus One, in his track “Bound 2.”  The suit is seeking “an injunction and damages for alleged violations of New York civil right of publicity law (section 51), unjust enrichment and common law copyright infringement.” 

In addition to West, the lawsuit also names Def Jam, Rhino, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Universal Music Group as defendants. The suit goes on to summarize that Spicer grew up in the Ohio Boys Town Home after his mother was in an accident and suffered from psychological injuries. Spicer was discovered there singing with friends at a local high school talent competition.  After being introduced to The Ponderosa Twins, the group recorded “Bound” when Spicer was only twelve years old. According to the suit, the two members of The Ponderosa Twins who are incarcerated have both conveyed power of attorney to Spicer.
This isn’t the first time West has found himself tangled up in a lawsuit over sampling. West was sued earlier this year for sampling in his hit song “Gold Digger.” Although it is widely known the song was created mainly from Ray Charles hit “I Got a Woman,” the children of late musician David Pryor claim that West sampled Pryor’s “get down” chants from the 1974 song “Bumpin’ Bus Stop.”  That suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also names Roc-A-Fella and Island Def Jam, a division of Universal Music Group among other defendants.