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REPORT: Pastor Sues Kanye West For Alleged Copyright Infringement

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Leena Nasir Entertainment Reporter
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Kanye West has been sued for copyright infringement by Bishop David P. Moten, who filed papers Tuesday in a Dallas, Texas court.

Moten named Def Jam Recordings, UMG Recordings Inc., Ye (previously known as Kanye West,) and G.O.O.D. Music in his litigation, which accused West of unauthorized and unlicensed use of his sermon, according to court documents revealed by Billboard. He alleges that snippets of his sermon were used in West’s “Come to Life” single, on the “Donda” album.

Court documents filed by Moten allege that “Come to Life is “approximately five minutes and ten seconds (5:10) in length” and the documents reveal that  “Approximately one minute and ten seconds (1:10) of this sound recording is sampled directly from Plaintiff’s sermon and appears to run on a loop underscoring the pre-chorus and chorus throughout the song in question.” Moten claims that 20% of that song reflects his sermon and belongs to him.

The sound recording “Come to Life” includes the following repeated, unauthorized, unlicensed samples from the Sermon: “My soul cries out, ‘Hallelujah’ And I thank God for saving me I, I thank God,” as reported in the court documents.
“Hallelujah (Thank You, Jesus) Hallelujah (Yes) Hallelujah…” was another clip sampled by West within the lyrics of the song, and then also played softly in the background, and Moten claims this was also taken directly from his sermon. (RELATED: Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Case, Takes To Instagram To Lament Allegations)

In addition to the allegations that Kanye ripped his sermon and used samples of his sermon for his own gain, Moten also pointed out that this wasn’t an isolated situation. Citing his concerns for this ongoing behavior, Moten’s court document revealed, “Over the span of several years, Defendants have demonstrated an alarming pattern and practice of willfully and egregiously sampling sound recordings of others without consent or permission.” 
This isn’t the first copyright infringement suit that West has faced. He settled a similar suit in 2020 which stemmed from the alleged sampling of a child’s prayer which was used in “Ultralight Beam,” and released on his 2016 album, The Life of Pablo, according to Digital Music News.