Kanye West Claims He Didn't Need Permission to Rip Off 'Kids See Ghosts' Track
By TheBlast Staff on June 3, 2019 at 11:19 PM EDT
Kanye West is denying he swindled a veteran performer for allegedly using a sample of his work without permission.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Ye is asking a court to dismiss all claims against him in the case accusing him of ripping off Ronald Oslin Bobb-Semple for the song, "Freee (Ghost Town Pt. 2), which is featured on the album with Kid Cudi, "Kids See Ghosts."
West admits he did not get permission from Bobb-Semple, but claims he did not need authorization because he believes the work falls under fair use. He also says his actions were "innocent" and he wants the entire lawsuit thrown out immediately.
!youtube-embed(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nc9n77W42g)
The lawsuit, filed back in March, alleges Bobb-Semple's 2002 recording, "The Spirit of Marcus Garvey (Garvey speaks to an all-Black audience)" was used without permission.
Bobb-Semple claims West and Kid Cudi took his work and "exploited the actual voice, words and performance of Bobb-Semple, without authorization."
Marcus Garvey, who died in 1940, was a Jamaican-born political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League.
