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On Tuesday, March 25, Alice Merton filed against Kanye West for copyright infringement, after the 99 Problems rapper allegedly sampled one of her songs without her permission. The lawsuit, filed in California federal court, states that Merton refused to permit Ye to sample her song because of his allegedly antisemitic and racist comments on social media.
Alice Merton is a German-Canadian musician who is currently based in Britain. Merton first found fame in 2017, with the release of her debut track, No Roots, which has nearly 400 million streams on Spotify.
The track reached number 1 in France, number 2 in Germany, and top 10 in other European markets. It also became her only song to make it to the US Billboard Hot 100 charts.
According to Alice Merton's lawsuit, Kanye West sampled her 2022 track, Blindside, in his 2024 track, Gun To My Head, which also features Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi.
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The track, which was originally intended to be included in Ye's Vultures 1, was later released as a bonus track on his Vultures 2 album.
Alice Merton has released two studio albums so far
Alice Merton was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in September 1993, and has since moved frequently with her family, due to her father's mining consultancy job.
Alice spent over a decade of her childhood in Ontario, Canada, where she learned classical piano and music.
When she was 13, Merton relocated to Munich, Germany, with her family. Her return to Germany led to Alice learning the language. She also attended a German-language high school. After graduation, Merton moved to England.
Merton started her career in music in 2015, when she appeared as a singer and songwriter on an album of a German band, Fahrenhaidt, titled The Book of Nature. In 2016, Alice also won an award for a talented newcomer in the Acoustic Pop category.
In February 2017, Alice Merton officially released her debut track, No Roots, which brought her global recognition. Her second single, Hit the Ground Running, was released in August 2017.
In January 2019, Merton dropped her debut studio album, Mint. Her sophomore album - S.I.D.E.S. - came three years later, in 2022. Alice has also released two EPs - No Roots in April 2018 and Heron in April 2024.
According to Alice Merton's official website, the singer-songwriter has also performed live at music festivals like Sziget, Coachella, and Lollapalooza.
This isn't the first time Kanye West has been sued for copyright infringement
Alice Merton's lawsuit against Kanye West is one of the many copyright infringement lawsuits the Donda rapper has faced over the years.
In February 2024, the estate of Donna Summer accused Ye of interpolating the late disco legend's 1977 hit, I Feel Love, in his Good (Don't Die). Kanye West ultimately had to settle with the estate, agreeing to push the distribution of his song.
In June 2022, Ultra International - a music publisher - hit the Ghost Town rapper of sampling Marshall Jefferson's 1986 house track, Move Your Body, on his Donda 2 track, Flowers. The suit was settled with a confidential settlement.
Kanye West has also started a conflict with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, by tweeting about the socialite owning a trademark of their daughter, North West's name.
