A Texas pastor is suing Kanye West for taking one of his sermons and using it in a rap tune.
Bishop David Paul Moten said the hip-hop legend used the religious address without his permission in the song “Come to Life”.
In the song, Moten can be heard saying “My soul cries out, ‘Hallelujah,’ and I thank God for saving me. I, I thank God,” the suit, filed in Dallas County, reportedly says.
The lawsuit names Universal Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, G.O.O.D. Music, and West as defendants.
Moten is the bishop at Joy of Lord Worship Center, an Apostolic Pentecostal church in Victoria, Texas.
The 57-year-old says he did not authorize portions of his sermon to be used in the song which was released in the West’s 2021 Donda album.
Donda was a Grammy nominee for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album. The track reached number 20 in the Billboard Christian songs charts in 2021.
Another claim in the suit is that West and his record labels have a pattern of “willfully and egregiously sampling sound recordings of others without consent or permission.”
The pastor is asking for the case to go to trial and is seeking unspecified damages.
