Overview
- The producer, suing as John Doe, says he was hired on Aug. 1, 2024, two days before Vultures 2’s release to complete emergency vocal work that included creating at least 13 custom AI voice models and more than 400 vocal generations.
- Court filings reported Aug. 4, 2026 show the suit seeks at least $110,000 for seven commercially released tracks and asks for additional or double damages under the Los Angeles Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance.
- The complaint alleges Ye’s team later acknowledged the producer’s contributions and offered a master buyout and credit updates but never paid him or properly credited him on streaming services.
- The producer says his own recordings were used as source material and that his AI-generated vocals appear on multiple Vultures 2 tracks and on material for Bully, a claim that conflicts with West’s prior public statement that Bully used no AI.
- The case raises questions about how AI-created vocals are credited and paid in the music industry and could prompt closer enforcement of freelancer protections, corrections to streaming credits, and wider scrutiny of production practices.