Kanye West Sued For $500,000 Over Sample

posted in: Music News

Robert “Bobby” Pointdexter from the 1970’s soul group The Persuaders is suing Kanye West for the latter’s use of an unauthorized sample of Poindexter’s song “Trying Girls Out.” The sample is found on Kanye’s “Girls Girls Girls” 2006 remix on his mixtape Freshman Adjustment 2, but Pointdexter claims he was not aware of the copyright infringement until recently. “By chance, I happened to discover the usage of the illegal version on the internet in 2011,” he says.

The singer says he has also tried to contact West to negotiate an out-of-court settlement, but never heard back from the superstar rapper. Poindexter has thus filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Southern New York, seeking $500,000 in compensation. This comes on the heels of another Kanye lawsuit, which he recently settled with singer Syl Johnson.