In 2016, a then four-year-old child went viral on social media for her passionate recital of a prayer. The video gained a significant amount of traction that it even caught the attention of Kanye West. On the intro track to his The Life of Pablo album (2016), the 41-year-old artist featured the child’s prayer on “Ultralight Beam,” but now, her parents are suing West for failing to receive the proper permission and administer compensation for this gesture.
According to TMZ, the adoptive parents Andrew and Shirley Green state West asked the child, Natalie’s biological mother for permission and not them since they’re the girl’s legal guardians. Natalie was adopted by the Greens in 2012. The parents believe the child’s mother, Alice Johnson, never possessed the legal authority to sign off on West’s past request and didn’t receive a promised compensation from the rapper’s decision to sample the child.
The Greens have reportedly sued West in order to receive the allotted funds for Natalie’s sample.
Recently, West reportedly filed a lawsuit against EMI and Roc-a-Fella Records in order to be relinquished from a series of contracts that’ll allow the Yeezy creator “declaratory relief” from undisclosed obligations, The Hollywood Reporter states. The lawsuit also affects UMG Recordings, Bravado International Group, and Def Jam.
