German Singer Sues Kanye West After Denying Sample Request Over His ‘Racist’ Views

Kanye West faces a new lawsuit from German singer-songwriter Alice Merton, who claims he sampled her 2022 song “Blindside” without permission on Vultures 1 track “Gun to My Head.”

According to TMZ, Merton filed the lawsuit on Tuesday (March 25), alleging that despite the song already being released, BMG Rights Management only reached out to clear the sample in February last year, but that she denied it because “the artist’s values are contrary to our values” and that Kanye’s “anti-sematic [sic], racist remarks which were made publicly and continue to be made publicly.”

He has not yet responded.

Kanye West has released an unfinished version of his new album Bully on select streaming services, but only as a 45-minute music video on YouTube and Apple Music.

Titled BULLY V1, the video is the same black-and-white short film Ye leaked last week, featuring his nine-year-old son Saint battling wrestlers in the ring with a mallet. However, this version comes with significant changes to the music, including the removal of Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla $ign from the track Melrose due to ongoing disputes.

The album now features nine songs, with Mexican star Peso Pluma as the sole guest on Last Breath, where Kanye even raps in Spanish. Production is heavily sample-based, with dusty boom bap drums reminiscent of Griselda records, but roughly half of the album’s vocals were generated using AI, as Ye himself admitted.

BULLY V1 features nine tracks instead of ten, with Melrose—a collaboration with Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla $ign—being removed due to Kanye’s ongoing issues with the two artists.

The album’s sequencing has also been reworked, with several tracks appearing in a different order. The only featured artist on this version is Mexican star Peso Pluma, who appears on Last Breath, where Kanye partially raps in Spanish.

Production credits remain undisclosed, but Kanye previously claimed he “chopped every beat with [his] bare hand” for his 11th studio album.

Filled with vintage soul samples, emotive loops, and dusty boom-bap drums reminiscent of a Griselda record, the album showcases some of the Chicago native’s finest production in years.

However, the vocals didn’t receive the same level of attention, as Kanye admitted to using AI technology for nearly half of the singing-heavy album.