"Not Again” - Geoff Barrow accuses Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign of allegedly using unapproved Portishead sample on ‘Vultures 2’

Musician Geoff Barrow recently alleged that Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have sampled the former band, Portishead, on a Vultures 2 track without permission. On August 3, the former Portishead member took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a video of the song Field Trip from the album. He then wrote in the caption:

“FFS.. Not Again.”

Barrow here likely referred to the incident in 2013, where he claimed that The Weeknd had used the 2008 song ‘Machine Gun’ in Belong To The World without the group's permission. Explaining the same, he alleged that the singer asked him to sample their music, but he refused, so it was utilized without consent.

However, the latest X post by Barrow was shared after the much-anticipated release of the second album in the Vultures series on August 3 by Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign. The track Field Trip also features Don Toliver, Kodak Black, and Playboi Carti.

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Kanye and Ty allegedly used unauthorized Portishead sample for Vultures 2

Kanye and Ty's album is finally here (Image via Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)

Vultures 2, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's joint album, was released on Saturday. However, Geoff Barrow, a former member of the British boy band Portishead, seemingly alleged the track Field Trip samples Machine Gun by Portishead and Kanye and Ty$ didn't obtain permission for it.

A video clip of the song was uploaded to the platform by the English producer, and another fellow musical band, Good Willsmith, left a note for the Vultures 2 creators in the comment area. They urged them to hire someone to create a beat that sounds a lot like Machine Gun or simply pay for the sample. The X post read:

“If you’re very rich plz just get someone to program you a beat that sounds kind of like “Machine Gun,” u don’t need to just plop it into your song without permission. ppl are gonna hear it lol. just save everyone the headache. or sample it & pay them.. that sounds easy.”

Nevertheless, this isn't the first time something like this has happened. In the early 2010s, Barrow claimed that The Weeknd had used a song without his band's consent. Barrow addressed the singer on X and wrote:

"@pitchforkmedia @theweeknd when someone asks to sample you and you refuse they should have the respect as a fellow artist to not use it."

Discussing the topic further and defending himself against suggestions from netizens that Portishead wanted more money to clear the sample, Barrow continued:

"We usually give sample clearance to tunes we like. It’s got f**k all to do with money! As most of them are hiphop artists that are skint. Feels like I’m being used to promote the track now. I’ll shut up now.”

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More about Kanye and Ty's latest album

Kanye, Ty, Playboi Carti, Don Toliver, and Kodak Black are featured in the track Field Trip. Lil Durk was in a previous version as well, which premiered at Vultures 1 & 2 in Phoenix in March 2024. The first leak happened in December 2023.

In addition, several guest stars made appearances throughout the album, including Charlie Wilson, CyHi, Young Thug, 070 Shake, Future, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, and Ye's children, Chicago, and North.

The album consists of songs like FIELD TRIP, TIME MOVING SLOW, HUSBAND, SLIDE, FRIED, PROMOTION, ISABELLA, MAYBE, SKY CITY, LIFESTYLE, RIVER, BOMB, 530, FOREVER ROLLING, DEAD, and MY SOUL.

The first installment of Vultures was released on February 10. The second and third installments were set to release on March 8 and April 5, respectively.

The second one's release, however, was delayed for unknown reasons. The rappers repeatedly pushed back the album's release date. Nevertheless, they eventually released it on August 3.

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On the other hand, neither Kanye nor Ty Dolla $ign said anything about the alleged unapproved sampling.