Topline
Singer Alice Merton sued Kanye West in California federal court Tuesday for allegedly sampling one of her songs without permission, which Merton refused to clear because of West’s string of antisemitic and racist comments.
Singer Alice Merton said she did not give Kanye West permission to sample her song “Blindside.” … More
Key Facts
Merton’s lawsuit accuses West of using a sample of her song, “Blindside,” without permission in his song “Gun To My Head,” a collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi.
West’s song features Merton’s vocals singing the line, “I sat down with a gun to my head,” which is the opening line of “Blindside,” and replays a melody phrase from “Blindside” throughout most of the song, Merton’s lawsuit says.
Merton’s lawsuit says she was “shocked and humiliated” about the sample, which she did not know about until West performed the song in December 2023, stating reports at the time had claimed the song was a collaboration between Merton and West.
Merton said she was not contacted to clear West’s sample until months after he had performed the song, which she and her label refused to do, stating West’s “values are contrary to our values.”
Merton said she did not want to be associated with West because of his “anti-semitic, racist remarks which were made publicly and continue to be made publicly,” which she considered personal as a German resident and a descendant of Holocaust survivors.
“Gun To My Head” was not included on West’s February 2024 release, “Vultures 1,” which Merton said “outraged” West’s fans, who had blamed and threatened her for not clearing the sample, though West released the song months later as a bonus track on his “Vultures 2” album.
Who Is Alice Merton?
Merton is a German singer-songwriter who achieved her first worldwide hit with the song “No Roots” in 2017, which is her only entry on the Billboard Hot 100 to date and has nearly 400 million streams on Spotify. The song reached No. 2 in her native Germany and the top 10 in other European markets. Merton has released two albums: “Mint” in 2019, and “S.I.D.E.S.” in 2022.
Key Background
Merton’s lawsuit referenced West’s history of antisemitic comments, which the rapper has made consistently since 2022—particularly in recent months. West, once a billionaire and fashion mogul thanks to his successful Yeezy partnership with Adidas, lost most of his fortune after Adidas cut ties with him following a string of antisemitic comments—including a tweet that he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people.” West has ramped up his antisemitic and otherwise bizarre behavior in recent months. He wore a swastika T-shirt around Los Angeles last month, the same shirts he sold on his website, which he directed people to in a Super Bowl advertisement. West has also made many since-deleted comments on X praising Hitler and disparaging Jewish people, including: “I LOVE HITLER NOW WHAT B*****ES,” “Hitler was sooooo fresh” and “IM A NAZI.” West was also sued by a former Yeezy staffer last month, who accused him of calling her a “bitch” and other insults, while making antisemitic remarks, including: “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler.”
Tangent
West has been sued multiple times in recent years for allegedly using samples without permission, which Merton cited in her lawsuit. The estate of Donna Summer accused West last year of “blatant theft” for sampling her song “I Feel Love” without permission on his song “Good (Don’t Die),” which was included on “Vultures 1.” “Good (Don’t Die)” was later removed from streaming services. West has been sued five additional times for sampling copyrighted music since 2022, Billboard reported.
Further Reading
How Many Times Has Ye Been Sued Over Sampling? Here’s Every Lawsuit (Billboard)
Kanye West Wears Swastika T-Shirt Around Los Angeles, Report Says (Forbes)
Kanye West Sued By Ex-Yeezy Staffer For Comparing Himself To Hitler, Calling Himself A Nazi (Forbes)
