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Ye and Ty Dolla $ign are being sued by two producers who claim the ¥$ artists stole a sample for their "Vultures" track without permission or compensation.
According to a report Billboard published on Monday, November 9, Jaraed Deal and Marlon Barrow allege the hitmaking duo ripped a sample from a song they created eight years ago and used it for the lead single for their joint album, VULTURES 1. Deal and Barrow's attorneys claim Ty Dolla $ign first heard the sampled work in the background during a phone call. Barrow, whose partnership with Ty goes back decades, said the "Paranoid" singer requested the file for the song following a studio session.
Barrow says he sent Ty a text message with the MP3, but held back the stems and other necessary files until a licensing deal was reached. He alleged neither Ty nor Ye brokered a deal for the sample before the song dropped in February 2024, but they allegedly used it anyway. The sample appears in Ye and Ty Dolla $ign's "Vulutres" featuring Lil Durk and Bump J. Barrow is credited as a producer, but he nor Deal agreed to Ye and Ty using it. They also weren't paid for it.
“This action concerns the knowing, continuous, and blatant unauthorized use of the sampled works,” their attorneys wrote. “It concerns protecting artistic integrity, enforcing intellectual property rights, and preventing commercial exploitation.”
Barrow and Deal say they made the original recording, titled "Joint 2," in 2018 and intended to shop it around to other artists. They claim reps for Ye and Ty eventually reached out to offer a "buy-out settlement" sometime after "Vultures" dropped in 2024. After they declined the offer, the sample remained on the song. Attorneys for both producers argue their clients suffered "significant financial harm" as well as "severe emotional distress, frustration, and a profound sense of exploitation stemming from the misappropriation of their creative work."
As of this report, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign have not responded to the lawsuit.