Kanye West Sued Over “Bound 2” Sample

The sample came from a 1971 track called "Bound"

  • Share
  • Read Later
Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for Dom Perignon

Kanye West in Miami, on Dec. 6, 2012.

Kanye West is being sued over an unlicensed sample used on his song “Bound 2.”

Ricky Spicer sang the original “Bound” with the Ponderosa Twins Plus One back in 1971. The New York Daily News reports that Spicer, 56, of Ohio,”was stunned when he heard himself on the radio backing up West” on “Bound 2,” the hit single, which appears on West’s No. 1 album, Yeezus.

Spicer sang “Bound” as a 12-year-old member of the Ponderosa Twins Plus One. Spicer told the Daily News that he never gave Kanye permission to use “Bound”, and that he only learned of “Bound 2″‘s existence while listening to the radio. “Mr. Spicer’s voice is sampled exactly as he recorded it and his voice … is heard several times,” said the suit, filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court. The lawsuit also names Roc-A-Fella, Island Def-Jam, Rhino Entertainment, and Universal Music Group.

Spicer’s suit demands that West et al., compensate him for the sample, or cease and desist from using his voice.

Take a listen to the original by the Ponderosa Twins Plus One:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/d6mGHwHMB5s]

Here’s the “Bound 2” video:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/BBAtAM7vtgc]

Neither West nor Universal have commented on the suit.

MORE: 5 Things Kanye West Is Better At Than You

MORE: The 25 Best Songs of 2013 (The Entire Year)