AceShowbiz - Ye has encountered numerous lawsuits throughout his career related to unlicensed samples and interpolations in his music, but for the first time, one of these cases is proceeding to trial in a limited form.

A jury is scheduled to convene in a Los Angeles federal court starting Monday, May 4, to hear a copyright dispute involving early versions of Ye’s songs "Hurricane" and "Moon." Both tracks appeared on his 2021 album Donda, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with each song making it into the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Notably, "Hurricane" won the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance.

The plaintiff in this case is Artist Revenue Advocates LLC, a company managed by music producers DJ Khalil (Khalil Abdul-Rahman), Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff, and Josh Mease. These four producers created an instrumental track titled "MSD PT2" in 2018. They filed the lawsuit in 2024, alleging that Ye interpolated elements of this track in "Hurricane" and "Moon" without obtaining permission or paying appropriate royalties.

However, in February a judge dismissed most of the lawsuit. The ruling clarified that Artist Revenue Advocates only owns the master recording rights for “MSD PT2,” not the composition rights. This distinction means the company can pursue claims related to sampling the actual recording but lacks standing to sue over interpolations, which involve re-creating parts of the music rather than using the original recording.

It is undisputed that the final released versions of "Hurricane" and "Moon" do not contain direct samples of "MSD PT2." Nonetheless, Artist Revenue Advocates contends that early, unreleased demos of both songs did include such samples before they were replaced with interpolations. Consequently, the judge has allowed a narrow trial focused on whether Ye owes the plaintiffs a share of the revenue generated from playing these early demos at listening parties prior to the official release of Donda.

Ye’s defense argues that he does not owe money to the four producers. He claims his team made efforts to clear the "MSD PT2" sample, but the producers intentionally delayed the process and refused to approve standard royalty splits in order to leverage a larger settlement later by alleging infringement after the album’s release. Additionally, Ye asserts that the plaintiffs have already collected some royalties from various publishers.

This trial is not the first legal challenge Ye has faced regarding sampling. His initial lawsuit over sampling dates back to 2008, involving his second studio album, Late Registration. Since then, he has been sued at least 16 more times for similar claims.

Historically, Ye has avoided taking these cases to trial, often settling those not dismissed on procedural grounds. This time, however, his legal team has decided to contest the Artist Revenue Advocates’ claims in court before a jury.

The trial is anticipated to last approximately one week. It is expected to feature testimony from Ye himself, who recently testified at another Los Angeles trial related to construction work at his Malibu mansion. Other witnesses include Ye’s chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, as well as producers credited on Donda such as Nascent, 88-Keys, BoogzdaBeast, and Digital Nas.

Additionally, a representative from Apple Music may be called to testify about the platform’s livestreams of the Donda listening sessions in 2021. Representatives from Balenciaga and Gap might also appear to discuss whether these listening events influenced sales of Yeezy-branded merchandise.

This legal proceeding unfolds amid a complex period in Ye’s career. In January 2024, the rapper placed a full-page apology ad in the Wall Street Journal addressing his history of antisemitic remarks. Following this, he sold out two shows at SoFi Stadium and released his album Bully, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 last month.

However, Ye’s resurgence faced setbacks when the U.K. government denied him a visa to perform at the Wireless Festival this summer. This led to the cancellation of that festival appearance along with several other planned performances.

Neither representatives for Ye nor Artist Revenue Advocates responded to requests for comment before the trial began.