Ty Dolla $ign Settles ‘Vultures 1’ Sample Lawsuit, But Case Against Ye Will Move Ahead

A group of Memphis rappers has reached a settlement to drop Ty Dolla $ign from a copyright lawsuit over an allegedly uncleared sample on Vultures 1 – but they say they’re moving ahead with the case against Ye (formerly known as Kanye West).

Filed last year, the case alleges that the Vultures track “Fuk Sumn” is “riddled” with illegal samples from a 1994 song called “Drink a Yak (Part 2)” by the artists Criminal Manne (Vanda Watkins), DJ Squeeky (Hayward Ivy) and the late Kilo G (Robert L. Johnson Jr.)

But in a motion filed Wednesday (July 30), attorneys for that trio said they had inked a preliminary settlement to resolve their dispute with Ty Dolla $ign and Create Music Group, which was also named as a defendant in the case.

Oh, just one small thing: The deal doesn’t include Ye.

“The parties have resolved their differences and are presently negotiating a confidential settlement agreement,” lawyers for the plaintiffs write. The deal “will resolve plaintiffs’ claims against the settling defendants — but not co-defendants Kanye Omari West p/k/a/ YE or Yeezy Record Label LLC.”

The filing did not contain any additional details on the terms of the settlement, and none of the parties immediately returned requests for comment or more details.

The case over “Fuk Sumn” is just the latest in a long line of lawsuits against Ye over claims of unlicensed sampling or interpolating. The controversial rapper has faced at least ten such cases since 2019 alone, including a high-profile battle with the estate of Donna Summer that settled last year and a more recent case from a German singer-songwriter who says she refused to work with Ye because she’s descended from Holocaust survivors.

The new case raises the same central claim as several earlier sampling lawsuits against Ye: That the star’s reps actually did reach out to clear the use of the music before releasing the song, but that he continued to use the sample without a license when talks broke down.

“After numerous unsuccessful attempts at resolving this matter directly with the responsible parties, plaintiffs have been left with no other method of recourse than to bring this cause of action,” attorneys for the accusers wrote last year.

The case claims Ye’s use of the earlier track was “blatant” and “brazen.” Near the start of “Fuk” for instance, the lawsuit claims Criminal Manne can be heard rapping a lyric from “Yak” that stars with “smokin on a junt”; seconds later, Kilo G is allegedly heard rapping another line: “Stop off at the liquor store, get your yak, then we headed for the indo.”

It’s not entirely surprising that Ye wasn’t a party to the settlement because he’s barely taken part in the case. The plaintiffs have failed at repeated attempts to legally serve him with the lawsuit, and no lawyer for the star has yet appeared in the case.