Kanye West announces Vultures 1 ‘listening experience’ in San Francisco – after rapper was sued by Donna Summer’s estate over controversial album track

Kanye West has announced a ‘listening experience’ event for his new album Vultures 1 in San Francisco, set for March 12.

The rapper, 46, who is being sued by Donna Summer’s estate for using an allegedly uncleared sample of her work on the new album, took to Instagram to plug the event at the city’s Chase Center with tickets starting at $100.

West has teased the music will be delivered via ‘a hi-fidelity audio experience’ and has also planned an event in Phoenix, Arizona at the Footprint Center on March 10.

It is not known if West will attend the event with collaborator Ty Dolla $ign but the star has hit the stage at previous parties, alongside daughter North, Offset, Kodak Black, Lil Durk and Freddie Gibbs.

This comes after the estate of late singer Summer – who died from lung cancer in 2012 –  filed a lawsuit against West. his record label, collaborator Ty Dolla $ign, 41, and others over claims West made an unauthorized imitation of Summer’s song I Feel Love.

Kanye West has announced a ‘listening experience’ event for his new album Vultures 1 in San Francisco, set for March 12

The rapper, 46, who is being sued by Donna Summer’s estate for using an allegedly uncleared sample of her work on the new album, took to Instagram to plug the event at the city’s Chase Center with tickets starting at $100
In documents obtained by TMZ, Summer’s estate claim they denied West’s request to clear a sample of I Feel Love for use on track Good (Don’t Die) due to his controversial reputation – but the track featuring the sample did appear on West’s chart-topping album, Vultures 1.

In the lawsuit, filed by attorney Larry Stein, Summer’s estate claims West and Ty approached them on January 31, 2024 to request clearance on the song which was just days before West’s projected February 9 release for Vultures 1.

The estate claim they still control a ‘portion’ of the copyright  and denied West’s request.

Summer’s estate claims West released the album with Good (Don’t Die) on it – with the track featuring the alleged uncleared sample available on streaming platforms including Apple and Spotify.

Summer’s estate claims West tried to workaround the denial by using a soundalike of I Feel Love instead of the original – but they say it is still copyright infringement.

The estate claims they contacted music streaming services to pull the song – with the album eventually re-uploaded sans Good (Don’t Die) – but the lawsuit claims the song was streamed millions of times which has harmed the estate.

Summer’s estate is asking for major damages and an injunction blocking further distribution of the song containing the sample.

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for West, Ty Dolla $ign and Summer for comment.

It is not known if West will attend the event with collaborator Ty Dolla $ign but the star has hit the stage at previous parties, alongside daughter North, Offset, Kodak Black, Lil Durk and Freddie Gibbs

The estate of the late singer – who died from lung cancer in 2012 – has filed a lawsuit against West his record label, collaborator Ty Dolla $ign, 41, and others over claims West made an unauthorized imitation of Summer’s song I Feel Love (Summer pictured 1976)

Summer’s estate claims West tried to workaround the denial by using a soundalike of I Feel Love instead of the original – but they say it is still copyright infringement; She is pictured in 1980

Earlier this month the official Instagram page of the late singer claimed Kanye’s prior request to use the song had been rejected
Kanye West joins his daughter North on stage in Paris

Apple Music swiftly pulled Vultures 1  just five days after its debut on the platform after being hit by copyright infringement issues.

The album was briefly removed from Apple Music and iTunes, where the song Carnival had held the No. 1 slot on the Top 100: Global chart.

The move comes amid reports the Vultures 1 distributor is working to remove it from all streaming services after Kanye reportedly uploaded it to various platforms without permission, according to Billboard.

The distributor, FUGA, said in a statement today: ‘On Friday, February 9, 2024, a long-standing FUGA client delivered the album Vultures 1 through the platform’s automated processes, violating our service agreement.’

‘Therefore, FUGA is actively working with its DSP partners and the client to remove Vultures 1 from our systems.’

Earlier this month the official Instagram page of the late singer claimed Kanye’s prior request to use the song had been rejected.

‘Kanye West…asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song I Feel Love,’ read the account’s post on Instagram Stories. ‘He was denied…he changed the words, had someone re sing [sic] it or used AI but it’s I Feel Love…copyright infringement!!!’

The post also tagged Sharon Osbourne, as she joined her husband Ozzy Osbourne in calling out Kanye for using an unauthorized sample of a Black Sabbath song.