Ye Ordered to Pay Six-Figure Sum Over Uncleared Sample at Donda Stadium Event

A Los Angeles jury has sided with four musicians who claimed Ye used their instrumental without permission during a high-profile listening event for his album Donda. The verdict requires the artist to pay a six-figure sum for playing an uncleared sample to 40,000 people at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in July 2021.

The track in question was an early version of Hurricane, which featured MSD PT2 — an instrumental composed by Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Sam Barsh, Josh Mease and Dan Seeff in 2018. It reached Ye via another producer, but no licence was ever secured. The sample was removed from the finished album, though elements of it were interpolated and the four men added to songwriting credits. That wasn’t enough, their lawyer argued. The stadium event generated revenue through tickets and merchandise, and the uncleared work played a role in that.

“There was no deal, no agreement, no licence, and no clearance,” said Irene Lee, representing the plaintiffs. Ye appeared in court, offering his own view: “I pride myself on giving people what they deserve. I just think people are trying to make more than they otherwise would because it’s me.”

This is the second lawsuit Ye has lost this year, following a $140,000 judgment over unpaid renovation work at a Malibu mansion. The legal troubles sit alongside wider cultural pushback. His series of antisemitic remarks and designs prompted a ban from entering the UK earlier this year, leading to the cancellation of London’s Wireless festival after sponsors pulled out.

The sample case, though smaller in scale, clarifies a hazy line: what counts as commercial use when an unfinished record is played to a paying crowd. For Ye, it’s another expense and another reminder that loose creative practices now carry enforceable consequences.