Kanye West Sued Over “New Slaves” Sample

Carl Williott | May 23, 2016 11:55 am

Kanye West is being sued over an allegedly uncleared sample in his 2013 song “New Slaves.” Popular Hungarian rock musician Gabor Presser has accused the rapper of sampling one of his biggest songs without permission for the Yeezus track, according to Reuters.

As a part of the band Omega, Presser wrote their 1969 song “Gyöngyhajú Lány,” which is prominently sampled as the instrumental Frank Ocean sings over for the “New Slaves” coda. In his complaint, Presser alleges that West’s camp did contact him about the sample and gave him a 24-hour deadline to respond. He claims he was sent a check for $10,000 but that he never cashed the check nor did he authorize the sample. In his lawsuit against West and Sony, Presser is seeking a minimum of $2.5 million for copyright infringement.

The mad rush to finish Yeezus and get samples cleared has been well-documented. When the album’s credits were ultimately revealed on West’s site in 2013, “New Slaves” included the following: “CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF “GYÖNGYHAJÚ LÁNY” PERFORMED BY OMEGA, USED COURTESY OF HUNGAROTON RECORDS AND FOTEXNET KFT. WRITTEN BY GABOR PRESSER AND ANNA ADAMIS.” Presser and Adamis were also credited as songwriters for the track. But if Presser’s allegations are true, then somebody in the Sony chain of command may have jumped the gun.

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