Producers Sue Ye and Ty Dolla $ign Over Sample on "Vultures"
Two music producers have sued Ye, formerly Kanye West, and Ty Dolla $ign over "Vultures", a song that reached No. 38 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. The lawsuit was filed on Friday, 6 November 2026, by Jaraed Deal and Marlon Barrow, who allege their music was used without permission.
A sample is a short piece of an existing recording reused inside a new song. According to the lawsuit, Deal and Barrow co-created a track in 2018 to pitch to recording artists. The filing alleges that Ty Dolla $ign heard that track playing in the background during a phone call and asked Barrow for a copy.
Barrow sent it, the suit says, assuming a full written licensing agreement would be signed if the track was used. A licence is the permission, usually paid for, to use someone else's recording. No such agreement was reached, the lawsuit alleges. It says neither Deal nor Barrow agreed to the sample or was paid for it, and it raises unpaid licensing fees and a lack of proper credit. Barrow is credited as a producer on "Vultures".
The filing also says representatives for Ye and Ty Dolla $ign made a buy-out offer in 2024. A buy-out is a single payment intended to end a claim. The lawsuit says the offer was rejected as insufficient.
"Vultures" was the lead single from Vultures 1, the joint album by Ye and Ty Dolla $ign. The lead single is the first song released to promote an album.
Ty Dolla $ign has settled a separate lawsuit over an unauthorised sample on Vultures 1. Billboard and Complex reported that settlement in July 2025. It does not cover Ye, who still faces that case, according to Billboard.
Sample disputes have followed several of the Vultures releases. In 2024, three Memphis rappers sued over "Fuk Sumn", alleging copyright infringement of a 1994 rap song. The Donna Summer estate also sued that year over "Good (Don't Die)", over the use of "I Feel Love". In February 2026, Complex reported a copyright suit over an alleged uncleared sample on the Vultures 2 track "530".
For the people who wrote the original material, the questions in cases like this are practical. Who approved the use, who gets paid, and whose name appears in the credits. Those are the points the Deal and Barrow complaint puts at the centre of its claim.
