Ye Sued for Alleged Copyright Infringement by German Artist Alice Merton Over ‘Vultures 2’ Track

The artist formerly known as Kanye West is again being accused of copyright infringement, this time by a singer-songwriter, Alice Merton, who says a song from the Vultures 2 era features an “unauthorized sample” of her work. The song in question, “Gun to My Head,” was included on the digital deluxe edition of Ye and Ty Dolla Sign’s second Vultures album, released in August of last year.

As reported by TMZ on Wednesday, Merton’s lawsuit says the Ye track incorporates elements from her own “Blindside,” a song off her 2022 album S.I.D.E.S. In February of last year, according to the suit, Ye’s team asked to use the sample via BMG Rights Management. This request was turned down, with Merton pointing to her and Ye’s difference in “values” as having inspired her decision.

The report also states that Merton expressed more specific concerns over Ye’s rhetoric, which in recent months has seen him return to sharing pro-Nazi statements on social media. Merton is described in the TMZ report as “a German resident” who, notably, has family members who survived the Holocaust. The suit also alleges that fans of Ye have targeted Merton, who first broke through thanks to her acclaimed track “No Roots” in 2016, with threatening messages.

Complex has reached out to a legal rep for Merton for comment, as well as to BMG. This story may be updated.

Vultures 2 was originally slated to be followed by a third, and final, joint project from Ye and Ty. It’s unclear if the trilogy plans remain in place, with the focus having seemingly shifted to Ye’s own Bully, released in an incomplete form earlier this month amid an onslaught of unsettling X updates.

Ye has been accused of sample-related copyright infringement multiple times in the past. The Stem Player exclusive “Flowers,” for example, was the subject of such a suit back in 2022. More recently, he was threatened with legal action from Ozzy Osbourne over the Vultures 1 hit “Carnival,” the studio version of which wound up featuring a portion of Ye’s “Iron Man”-sampling “Hell of a Life.”