Kanye West Sued for Copyright Infringement for Allegedly Using David Pryor's Music
Rapper and entertainer Kanye West is being sued for copyright infringement after the children of David Pryor accused West of sampling several of Pryor's songs, including West's 2005 smash hit "Gold Digger."
David Pryor's children, Trena Steward and Lorenzo Pryor, recently filed a civil complaint against the rapper, Roc-A-Fella Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group for copyright infringement in addition to several other claims.
His daughter and son are charging that West and the other named defendants "engaged in the repeated willful infringement of Plaintiffs' copyrighted music on a massive scale by sampling Plaintiffs' copyrighted music," according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
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The issue at hand is the use of lyrics from "Get Down," "Step Up," "It's the Hottest Thing" and "Step Up Front," which were written and performed by David Pryor on "Bumpin' Bus Stop."
Steward and Pryor hold a financial stake in the song "Bumpin' Bus Stop," which they charge was used without permission for his "Gold Digger" single.
Steward and Pryor are demanding that the case go before a jury and are also seeking financial compensation to the tune of $150,000 per infringement in addition to attorneys' fees.
"Gold Digger" was a wildly popular single that sold more than 3 million copies in the United States and tens of millions of copies around the globe. But while he may have some pending legal issues, the rapper has also been dealing with a declining image.
Kanye West recently blamed his relationship with Kim Kardashian for his declining image, and a new report claims the rapper is trying to distance himself from his pregnant girlfriend.
West was recently ranked 7th on MTV's list of top rappers in the industry and the rapper openly expressed his disappointment in a radio interview.
"Yeah, number seven bothers me. I feel like for them to put me at number seven, they had to bring up things they didn't like," West vented to New York radio station Hot 97.
"They don't like Givenchy Kanye. They don't like Kanye in a kilt, they don't like Kanye in a relationship," he went on.
