Skip To...
Donna Summer‘s estate is suing both Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and Ty Dolla $ign for the illegal use of her song “I Feel Love” in their collaboration “Good (Don’t Die)” as part of their latest album Vultures 1.
The copyright infringement lawsuit was filed by Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano acting as executor of the estate of the singer-songwriter, who died in 2012 from lung cancer at the age of 63.
Ye’s Representatives Were Rejected Use of the Song
The lawsuit claims that Ye’s representatives asked permission to use “I Feel Love” but were denied because Summer’s estate wanted — as CBS News reports — “no association with West’s controversial history.”
Instead of respecting the estate’s decision, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign ignorantly included re-recordings of segments from the song.
“In the face of this rejection, defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission,” the lawsuit states.
A representative for Summer’s estate told CBS News that they had no additional comments at this time.
“At this time we are letting the complaint speak for itself,” they said.
A Little Bit About the Disco Queen Herself
“I Feel Love” was released in 1977 and co-written by Summer, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. It was included in Summer’s fifth studio album, I Remember Yesterday. Summer wanted each track on this specific album to represent and evoke a different musical decade. For “I Feel Love,” the team wanted to replicate a futuristic mood.
Donna Summer was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and amassed a total of 32 chart singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 in her lifetime. The five-time Grammy Award winner sold over 100 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling artists of all time. She was dubbed the “Disco Queen” by those who adored her, which was just about everyone.
In her obituary in The Times, she was described as the “undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom” who reached the status of “one of the world’s leading female singers.”
Summer presumed that her cancer had been caused by inhaling toxic fumes and dust from the 9/11 attacks on New York City.
At the 2024 Special Merit Grammy Awards, Summer was posthumously honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
