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Musicians in ‘Hurricane’ trial seek more than $500,000 from Kanye West over 2021 live performance
A Los Angeles jury is hearing claims that Kanye West’s 2021 Atlanta performance of ‘Hurricane’ used an unlicensed instrumental, with four musicians seeking over $500,000 despite the sample not appearing on the final ‘Donda’ release.
A federal copyright trial in Los Angeles is now testing a narrower but consequential question around Kanye West’s Hurricane era: can a one-off stadium performance trigger major damages even when the disputed material never appears on the final album release?
Four musicians, Khalil Abdul Rahman, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff, and Josh Mease, are seeking more than $500,000 after alleging that West used elements of their one-minute instrumental MSD PT2 during his July 2021 listening event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. That version of Hurricane was performed publicly months before Donda arrived, and the plaintiffs argue the live use itself constitutes infringement.
According to court arguments, the musicians say the recording had been shared with West’s camp during early discussions, with an understanding they would be “compensated fairly” if the music was used commercially. Their case does not depend on the final Donda track, which did not include the alleged sample.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Irene Lee told jurors an expert estimated the Atlanta event generated roughly $5.5 million through ticketing, merchandise, Apple streaming rights, and a Gap tie-in centered on the jacket West wore onstage. The framing is clear: this was not an informal rehearsal, but a monetized rollout moment tied to one of pop’s biggest album launches.
West’s attorney Eduardo Martorell pushed back on that logic, arguing those revenues came from West’s celebrity and catalog power, not from what he described as “a one-minute and one-second instrumental.” He also told the jury the artists had effectively signaled permission throughout the process, adding, “We don’t think we should be here. This lawsuit should never have been filed.”
West is expected to testify. The trial opened Monday, May 4, and is projected to run about a week.
The dispute arrives as Hurricane remains one of the most visible songs from the Donda cycle. The official album version featured The Weeknd and Lil Baby, with added vocals from Sunday Service Choir and KayCyy, and later won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammys. But the case highlights how modern album rollouts, especially West’s, often blur lines between unfinished material, premium live premieres, and commercial exploitation long before a tracklist is locked.
That matters beyond this single suit. Over the last decade, streaming-era launches have turned listening events into revenue engines, not just promo stunts. If juries treat pre-release performances as actionable commercial uses at the same level as formal distribution, labels and artists may have to tighten sample clearance protocols much earlier in the creative process.
The timing is also notable for West’s current career phase. He released Bully in March and has attempted to mount a world tour, with dates in the UK, Switzerland, Poland, and France reportedly canceled amid continued fallout from his past anti-Semitic remarks. In that context, this trial reads as part of a broader pattern: the legal and reputational aftershocks of an artist whose public spectacles routinely outpace traditional industry guardrails.
