Kanye West Accused Of Sampling Berlin Label Pan's Song Without Permission

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Kanye West at Milk Studios on June 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. adidas and Kanye West announce the future of their partnership: adidas + KANYE WEST
Kanye West finds himself engulfed in controversy over the production on "Ye."

Kanye West dropped off his highly anticipated eighth studio album, Ye, last night. In the days leading up the album's release, there was still a lot of people wondering whether it would actually drop considering he was surprisingly quiet in the media. However, Kanye West delivered the album earlier in the day and many people seem to be pleased with what he's been working on. Unfortunately, 'Ye has found himself engulfed in controversy surrounding one of the samples found on the album.

Pitchfork reports that Berlin label Pan is accusing Kanye West of lifting a  sample from one of their artists without permission for the album's intro, "I Thought About Killing You." They initially pointed this out on Twitter earlier in the day. The song in question is "Fr3sh" by Kareem Lotfy from the project, mono no aware, which is a compilation from the album. Label head Bill Kouligas says that Kanye didn't clear the sample before using it on his album. He's also planning on taking legal action.

“It’s sadly another case of an artist who capitalizes on culture without any original ideas and because culture trickles up, this means we are all basically working for him,“It’s sadly another case of an artist who capitalizes on culture without any original ideas and because culture trickles up, this means we are all basically working for him," Kouligas said to the publication. "Everything leads to him, he’s the ultimate narcissist."

So far no word from Kanye's camp about the scenario but we will keep you posted. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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