A producer has filed an anonymous lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that Kanye West and his label YZY used artificial intelligence to build vocal tracks on two albums — then failed to pay him or credit his work.

The suit, filed on 4 August 2026, centres on 'Vultures 2,' the 2024 collaborative album by West and Ty Dolla $ign, and 'Bully,' West's subsequent solo release. The producer says he was brought in on an emergency basis two days before 'Vultures 2' dropped, and that his contributions appear on five tracks. According to the complaint, his work included at least 13 custom AI voice models, more than 400 individual vocal generations, and source material recorded using his own voice (Rolling Stone; Pitchfork).

The producer says he continued working on 'Bully' from October 2024 onward, contributing AI vocal programming to additional tracks. The suit claims West and YZY acknowledged his contributions and told him they were updating streaming platforms to reflect his involvement, but that his name never appeared in the production credits on any streaming service (Rolling Stone).

He is seeking at least $110,000 — roughly $80,000 for his work on 'Vultures 2' and $30,000 for 'Bully,' covering seven released tracks, plus additional damages for unreleased material. The claims include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of California's Unfair Competition Law and the Los Angeles Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance, a city-level rule that entitles freelance workers to timely payment (Pitchfork).

West has publicly denied using AI on 'Bully,' stating that the album uses "no AI" (Pitchfork). Rolling Stone's review of 'Bully,' published 31 March 2026, reported that Ye had been using AI to construct the album (Rolling Stone).

The lawsuit lands against a backdrop of mounting legal and payment disputes tied to West's recent output. Billboard reported in December 2024 that more than 10 producers who worked on the 'Vultures' albums had not been paid, with one attorney describing the situation as "a mess" (Billboard). Forbes has reported that West has faced roughly a dozen copyright lawsuits over the past several years accusing him of sampling music without permission (Forbes).

Several of those cases have closed. West settled a copyright lawsuit days before 'Bully's release, following a complaint by Memphis rappers who accused him of "blatant" infringement (Forbes). He also reached an out-of-court settlement with three rappers who claimed he used their work, ending all related legal claims, as reported by Reuters and carried by Billboard in April 2026 (Billboard). A court separately ruled against West in a lawsuit over an uncleared sample in the 'Donda' track 'Hurricane,' ordering him to pay just under $200,000 (Pitchfork). West also settled a 2024 lawsuit brought by his former assistant Lauren Pisciotta, who had accused him of sexual assault and harassment (Pitchfork).

What gives this new filing its particular weight is the AI question. If the producer's claims are accurate, hundreds of AI-generated vocal takes were woven into commercially released albums with no public disclosure, no credit, and no payment — a combination that pushes the technology's legal and labour implications into a courtroom rather than a policy paper. The allegations are unproven, and West has not yet publicly responded to the complaint.