Kanye West is in court this week for a copyright trial involving his 2021 DONDA listening event in Atlanta. DJ Khalil, Sam Barsh, John Mease, and Dan Seeff are four producers accusing Ye of using an uncleared sample of their song, "MSD PT2," on the "Hurricane Demo."
These four producers are currently seeking damages, and as a result, Ye had to take the stand on Wednesday. Overall, Ye was asked a plethora of questions about his music career and his process as it pertained to sampling.
At one point, Ye's attorney asked him whether or not he ever won a Grammy for the song "Brothers in Paris." Of course, this is a censored version of his chart-topping hit, "N***** in Paris," featuring Jay-Z. Ye subsequently had the entire courtroom laughing as he responded by saying, “What’s the real name?”
Kanye West Copyright Trial Continues
According to Billboard, Ye eventually got much more serious in relation to the accusations that were being leveled his way. The artist made it crystal clear that he always goes through the proper channels for samples. Furthermore, Ye said that he prides himself on giving proper credit and compensation.
“We went through the normal process to get it taken care of,” Ye said. “I pride myself on giving people what they deserve. I feel like a lot of people try to take advantage of me.”
As it stands, the four producers are only able to seek compensation for the revenue made during the listening event. A larger lawsuit involving royalties from the songs "Hurricane" and "Moon" was struck down.
All of this comes weeks after the release of Ye's new album, Bully, which has received some mixed reviews so far. Ye is also in the midst of a public apology tour, as he hopes to tour across the world without much pushback from local governments.
