Kanye West is currently under fire for using a sample in his “Bounds 2″ track without permission. The lawsuit includes Def Jam, Rhino, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Universal Music Group as defendants for common law copyright infringement.
Ricky Spicer, 56, former lead singer of the Ponderosa Twins Plus One, a group started in 1969 when Spicer was only 12 years old, is suing the outspoken rebel. “Bound”, the original song and the tune in question, was recorded in 1970. “Mr. Spicer’s voice is sampled exactly as he recorded it and his voice, altered by the Defendants, is also heard several times,” the 13-page complaint describes.
Spicer’s vocals is the audible on the track, though modified. His voice is heard throughout the chorus of the track, singing the lyrics, “Bound, bound / Bound to fall in love.” The lawsuit alleges the audio was sampled without his permission, and that he has never received any compensation.
“Bound” isn’t the only sample West used. He also experimented with samples from a 1977 track, “Aeroplane (Reprise)”, by Wee. The repetitive “Uh huh, honey” was sampled from a Brenda Lee 1959 song, “Sweet Nothin’s.”