Kanye West sued by Donna Summer's estate for 'blatant theft' of I Feel Love

The estate of the late US singer and disco icon Donna Summer has accused rap star Kanye West of “stealing” parts of her hit song I Feel Love for his new album Vultures 1 without proper permission.

In a lawsuit filed in California, Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano claimed West and Ty Dolla $ign – real name Tyrone Griffin – engaged in “blatant theft” after the estate “explicitly denied” their request to use a sample of the song on their collaborative album..

The lawsuit said the pair used “instantly recognisable” parts of Summer’s song in their own track Good (Don’t Die), despite the estate having rejected their proposal because they “wanted no association with West’s controversial history.”

The court documents suggest the Summer estate were approached on January 31 to request clearance of the song, which was denied. The album was released a week later on February 10.

The lawsuit alleges that West and Griffin “recorded almost verbatim the key, memorable portions of Summer’s iconic song, used it as the hook for their own song, and released it to the public knowing they had tried and failed to secure legal permission from its rightful owners.”

During this time, representatives for West and Griffin approached Summer’s record label to request clearance of the master recording of the song, which was also denied, court documents allege.

The original version of the duo’s song was streamed “millions of times” before platforms including Spotify, iTunes and Apple Music were able to remove it, while West and Griffin have performed the song at various live shows. Footage online has amassed millions of views.

The estate is requesting maximum damages, equating to 150,000 dollars (£118,000) “for each act of infringement”.

“It is about protecting Donna Summer’s own musical legacy and one of popular music’s most influential and ground-breaking songs,” the court documents said.

Summer, a five-time Grammy winner, died in 2012 at the age of 63 but was post-humorously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a year after her death.

A representative for West and Griffin have been contacted for comment.