The estate of Donna Summer began legal action Tuesday against Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign for what its attorneys claim is the “shamelessly” illegal use of her iconic 1977 song “I Feel Love” in their collaboration “Good (Don’t Die).”
AP reports the copyright infringement lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano in his capacity as executor of the estate of the singer-songwriter and “Disco Queen,” who died in 2012.
File/Donna Summer performs at the Universal Amphitheater on July 28, 1983. Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Summer’s estate alleges in the filing that “permission was explicitly denied” over the use of the singer’s 1977 landmark work. “Despite this denial, Defendants shamelessly used instantly recognizable portions of Summer’s hit song,” the documents as obtained by PEOPLE state.
The filing alleges the musicians “arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal” the song when their request was denied by the estate because they “wanted no association with West’s controversial history.”
The suit contends the album instead “shamelessly” includes re-recorded parts of the song that were “instantly recognizable.”
“I Feel Love,” co-written by Summer, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, is a hugely influential track off Summer’s album “I Remember Yesterday” long considered one of the first instances of electronic dance music, the AP report notes.
File/Donna Summer during Art Expo at Javits Center in New York City, New York, United States, circa April 1989. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
The concept album had songs spanning different decades. “I Feel Love,” with Summer’s ecstatic moans and minimalist lyrics, was meant to represent the future.
“Good (Don’t Die)” was released February 10 on Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s collaborative album, “About Vultures 1.” The lawsuit names as defendants both artists and West’s record label Yeezy.