Kanye West Accused of Illegal Sampling

MANHATTAN (CN) - Kanye West illegally sampled songs on his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" by the late New Orleans R&B legend Eddie Bo, the record label that owns the rights to Bo's songs claims in court.

The record label TufAmerica Inc. says it bought the rights to Eddie Bo's 1969 funk songs "Hook & Sling Part 1" and "Hook & Sling Part 2" in 1996.

TufAmerica says West used the sample on the tracks "Lost in the World" and "Who Will Survive in America?" without permission.

Roc-A-Fella and Universal paid TufAmerica $62,500 in licensing fees, but they "failed and refused to enter into written license agreements that accounted for their multiple other uses of ['Hook & Sling']", according to the complaint in federal court.

The sample was also used in a music video for "Lost in the World," as well as a short film called "Runaway."

TufAmerica demands punitive damages from Roc-A-Fella and UMG Recordings Inc. for copyright infringement. TufAmerica is represented by Kelly Talcott of Sea Cliff, N.Y.

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