The artist previously called Kanye West is facing fresh copyright infringement allegations, this time from singer-songwriter Alice Merton, who claims a track from the Vultures 2 era contains an “unauthorized sample” of her music. The song in question, “Gun to My Head,” appeared on the digital deluxe version of Ye and Ty Dolla Sign’s second Vultures album, dropped in August last year.
According to TMZ’s Wednesday report, Merton’s lawsuit alleges the Ye track borrows elements from her song “Blindside,” from her 2022 album S.I.D.E.S. In February last year, the suit claims Ye’s team approached BMG Rights Management to use the sample. Merton rejected this request, citing differences in “values” as her reason.
The report adds that Merton specifically objected to Ye’s rhetoric, which recently included him returning to posting pro-Nazi content on social media. Merton is described as “a German resident” with family members who survived the Holocaust. The lawsuit also claims Ye’s fans have sent threatening messages to Merton, who first gained recognition with her hit track “No Roots” in 2016.
Complex has contacted Merton’s legal representative and BMG for comment. This story may be updated.
Vultures 2 was originally planned to be followed by a third and final collaboration between Ye and Ty. It’s not clear if they’re still moving forward with the trilogy, as attention has apparently shifted to Ye’s Bully, which dropped in an unfinished state earlier this month alongside a series of disturbing X posts.
Ye has faced sample-related copyright infringement accusations many times before. The Stem Player exclusive “Flowers” triggered such a lawsuit in 2022. More recently, Ozzy Osbourne threatened legal action over the Vultures 1 track “Carnival,” whose studio version ended up including part of Ye’s “Iron Man”-sampling song “Hell of a Life.”
