US rapper Kanye West just landed himself in a bit of legal trouble after allegedly using a Texas pastor’s sermon without getting permission to do so first.
Bishop David Paul Moten is suing the Jesus Walks rapper for using his religious speech in the song Come To Life which is on his album Donda.
Moten claims his sermon is used for 70 seconds of the 5-minute, 10-second track. This makes up more than 20 percent of the song.
The pastor also says that his voice and sermon are used in the song intro and looped throughout the song – something he is not particularly happy about.
This is because it is yet another example of how Kanye and the music industry as a whole are always “willfully and egregiously sampling sound recordings of others without consent or permission.”
Moten is also suing UMG Recordings, Def Jam Recordings, and G.O.O.D Music for damages over the unlawful use of his sermon.
According to TMZ, Kanye was reached for a comment on the matter but is yet to respond to the accusations.
Meanwhile, Kanye’s fans have slammed the pastor as greedy – especially since the Grammy Award-winning rapper is “spreading the gospel”.
One fan, bobo.zm said:
“Wow, anything for money yeah, religion can be funny, isn’t it about spreading the world the Word of God, is it his Word, or your word?”
While another, doc1903:
“If true, surely the pastor would turn the other cheek and forgive Kanye.”