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Musicians Seek Over $500K From Kanye West in Hurricane Copyright Trial
Four musicians are seeking over $500,000 from Kanye West in a Los Angeles copyright trial over an early live version of Hurricane, arguing a 2021 stadium performance used their instrumental without proper compensation.
A federal copyright trial in Los Angeles is now underway as four musicians accuse Kanye West of using their work during an early live version of Hurricane without proper clearance, and they are seeking more than $500,000 in damages.
The dispute centers on West’s July 2021 listening event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where an unreleased version of the track was performed before Donda officially arrived. Plaintiffs Khalil Abdul Rahman, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff, and Josh Mease say that performance incorporated material from their one-minute instrumental MSD PT2.
According to the lawsuit, the musicians shared the recording with West’s team during early conversations and believed they would be “compensated fairly” if the music was used commercially. While the sample did not appear on the final studio version of Hurricane, their argument is that the stadium performance itself constituted infringement.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Irene Lee told the court that expert analysis tied roughly $5.5 million in value to the event, citing ticketing, merchandise, an Apple streaming arrangement, and Gap’s tie-in around the jacket West wore onstage.
West’s attorney, Eduardo Martorell, pushed back in court, arguing that those revenue streams were driven by West’s celebrity and career profile, not “a one-minute and one-second instrumental.” He also told jurors the case should not have been filed, claiming the artists’ conduct led West to believe he had permission to use the music.
West is expected to testify. The trial began Monday, May 4, and is projected to run about a week.
The final release of Hurricane on 2021’s Donda featured The Weeknd and Lil Baby, with additional vocals from the Sunday Service Choir and KayCyy. The track later won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammys.
The case arrives during another volatile chapter for West. He released Bully in March and has attempted to mount a world tour, but multiple dates in the UK, Switzerland, Poland, and France were canceled amid ongoing fallout from his past antisemitic remarks.
