Producers Jae Deal and Marlon Barrow have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in a United States federal court in Los Angeles against Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign. They allege that the duo’s song Vultures uses their music without a license.
The claims and defendants#
The complaint was filed on November 6. Deal, whose real name is Jaraed Deal, and Barrow, who is known professionally as Marlonwiththeglasses, accuse the defendants of “knowing, continuous, and blatant unauthorized use” of a 2018 recording that the pair co-own.
Along with Ye and Ty Dolla $ign, the suit names the following defendants:
- Yeezy Record Label LLC, a company owned by Ye
- Yeezy LLC, a company owned by Ye
- Create Music Group, a distributor
The 24-page complaint describes the recording as titled Joint 2. According to the filing, Deal and Barrow completed it in or around November 2018. Each owns 50% of the recording, its underlying composition, and five separately mixed stems for its Rhodes, flutes, piano, brass, and strings parts.
How the music reached Ye#
The complaint says Barrow and Ty Dolla $ign, whose real name is Tyrone William Griffin, Jr., have “a close personal and professional relationship spanning decades.” It states that during a phone call between the two men, Griffin heard the Sampled Works playing in the background on Barrow’s end of the call.
Ty Dolla $ign then asked to visit Barrow’s studio and later requested a copy of the music “to potentially use on his forthcoming album,” according to the lawsuit. The complaint states: “Barrow provided Griffin with only an MP3 (digital audio file format) version of the Sampled Works via text message, with the understanding, consistent with industry practice, that higher-quality versions and stems would be provided only upon execution of a written agreement governing the material terms and conditions of the use by the relevant parties involved.”
The producers say no such agreement was negotiated or signed, and that Barrow declined Ty Dolla $ign’s later requests for the stems. They believe Ty Dolla $ign then shared the MP3 with Ye, who is named in the filing as Kanye Omari West.
Release and later dealings#
According to the complaint, two versions of Vultures were released on or around November 18, 2023. One features Bump J and Lil Durk, and the other features Bump J alone.
The filing states: “Barrow was accorded a producer credit, but received no compensation whatsoever. Deal was never accorded a producer credit nor paid any compensation whatsoever.” The producers say they learned of the release after it happened. From around December 15, 2023, Deal began seeking to have the tracks taken down through Create Music Group, YouTube, and Spotify.
Around January 11, 2024, the complaint says, 88-Keys contacted the pair. The filing describes him as Yeezy’s Head of Music. The producers say they told him they owned the music and had not authorized its use.
Weeks later, the music appeared on the Vultures Pack EP, released through Yeezy on or around February 6, 2024, with a third version titled Vultures (Havoc Version). Four days later, Vultures became the title track of Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s joint album Vultures 1, which went on to top the Billboard 200 chart.
Settlement offer and copyright registration#
In October 2024, the complaint states, Yeezy’s then-attorney emailed Deal’s then-attorney with “a buy-out settlement offer.” Deal rejected it. According to the lawsuit, he cited the “known value” of the music and the offer’s failure to address the alleged willful infringement and lack of credit. The complaint does not state how much Yeezy offered.
The producers also allege that when the defendants registered the Vultures works with the US Copyright Office on July 9, 2025, they did not list Deal as an author. They further allege that the registration falsely stated Barrow had transferred his rights by contract.
Merchandise, events and streams#
The lawsuit links Vultures to revenue beyond streaming, including merchandise and ticketed listening events. The figures cited are:
- More than USD $19.3 million in sales from a Vultures merchandise storefront on yeezy.com between December 12, 2023, when only the singles had been released, and February 12, 2024. The complaint says Ye has stated this publicly.
- More than $100 million in total gross from Vultures merchandise, as alleged in the complaint.
- More than $12 million in ticket sales from listening parties staged by Ye and Ty Dolla $ign between December 2023 and around March 2024, excluding their fees for headlining Rolling Loud California.
- More than 130 million Spotify streams for the Vultures tracks combined, according to the complaint.
Ye posted a $19.3 million sales figure on Instagram in February 2024. At the time, it was widely reported as yeezy.com’s sales in roughly the 24 hours after his Super Bowl ad, across products including the Yeezy Pod shoe and Vultures T-shirts. It was not reported as two months of Vultures merchandise sales.
The filing says that at the listening events, “Defendants West and Griffin merely hit play on one or more Infringing Works for an audience of individuals who had purchased tickets to attend.” Deal and Barrow argue that because the songs and the merchandise share a name, they are “parts of an indivisible whole in the eyes of the public.”
Damages sought#
Deal and Barrow are seeking actual damages and the defendants’ profits from the alleged infringement, with the amount to be determined at trial. They also seek attorneys’ fees and costs.
As an alternative, they request the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 “for each act of willful infringement” of both the recording and the composition. The complaint does not specify a total figure.
US copyright law sets statutory damages per work infringed, rather than per release. The complaint argues that the recording and the composition are two separate works and that the defendants are jointly and severally liable. On that basis, the theoretical maximum would be $300,000.
