Kanye West allegedly faces lawsuit for not paying almost 10 producers for Vultures albums

Producers involved in Kanye West's Vultures albums have claimed they have not been paid, despite the albums' release.

Several producers involved in Kanye West's Vultures albums have reportedly not been compensated, according to a Billboard article published on Wednesday, December 4. These producers are said to be pursuing legal action after over ten of them claimed they were not paid for their contributions to the albums.

Vultures 1 was released on February 10, 2024, and Vultures 2 came out on August 3, 2024. These albums were created by the American hip-hop supergroup ¥$, which includes Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign. Music attorney Bob Celestin told Billboard, "We have clients who’ve produced music on the Vultures album(s) and have still not been paid for their services even though both albums have been released."

Celestin also expressed uncertainty about when the producers would receive their payments, adding, "Presently, we have no idea when payment will be made, which is so unfortunate and unfair. You would think Ye would be more sensitive to this issue because he is a producer."

Attorney Brittney Trigg, who represents a producer from Vultures 1, stated that it was challenging to secure a producer agreement from Kanye. According to the Billboard report, five lawyers are currently representing producers from Vultures 1, and they have indicated that obtaining proper payment from Kanye has been more difficult than expected.

Billboard further noted that there were no formal agreements between Kanye West and the producers who complained, which complicated the process of securing payment for their work.

The attorneys working with the producers have suggested that suing Kanye West may not yield positive results, describing legal actions against him as costly and ineffective. One lawyer remarked, "Legal claims against Ye don’t really seem to go anywhere."

In an effort to secure their payments, some producers reportedly formed a group to threaten the album’s distributor. However, Kanye West changed the distributor, and the albums were later independently released under his Yeezy brand.