Kanye West is being sued for his 2005 hit single Gold Digger, which is well known for sampling the Ray Charles song "I Got a Woman." Two children of another musician, the late David Pryor, claim that West sampled a portion of their father's music without consent.
The siblings, Trena Steward and Lorenzo Pryor, are suing West for millions of dollars in damages for a signature sample heard throughout the song. The song may be eight years old, but they want a judge to also stop the sale of West's Gold Digger.
As reported by the Huffington Post Monday, Pryor's children are claiming that the sample is from their dad's 1974 song, Bumpin' Bus Stop. They claim the song was written and recorded by their father with his band, Thunder and Lightning.
The part of Gold Digger West is being sued for is the echoing of the phrase, "Get down girl, go 'head, get down," which begins 13 seconds into the song. Steward and Pryor want West to pay up for unauthorized use of their father's sample. The suit accuses West of "illegal copyright infringement scheme and criminal enterprise involving the unauthorized, willful sampling of plaintiffs' original copyrighted music on a massive scale."
Gold Digger peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts and is certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The song features a guest appearance by actor, comedian and singer Jamie Foxx. Gold Digger was the second single off of West's second studio album, Late Registration.
