Kanye West accused of stealing bass line for “I Love It”

DJ David Morales is claiming West’s new hit lifts from a 1991 remix.

September 13, 2018

Kanye West is riding high with his new hit with Lil Pump "I Love It," but house DJ David Morales claims the song's bass line is an unauthorized sample of a remix he created in 1991. Watch Morales's Instagram video statement above via HotNewHipHop.

ADVERTISEMENT

Morales says the bass line for "I Love It" originally appeared in his remix for Alexander O'Neal's 1991 song "What Is This Thing Called Love." After playing his original, Morales claims no one from Kanye's camp sought to clear the sample. "Nobody asked me any permission, nobody gave me any love, no points, no royalty, not even a coupon to Walmart,” he says.

The two bass lines are undeniably similar – you can hear it clearly below in Morales's 1991 remix below at 4:40. West is credited as a producer on "I Love It" along with DJ Clark Kent, CBMix, and Ronny J.

ADVERTISEMENT

It's the third major accusation of uncredited sampling Kanye West has faced in recent months. Numero Group alleged in June that "Issues/Hold On," a song produced by West on Teyana Taylor's album K.T.S.E., contained a sample of a version of Billy Stewart's 1965 single "I Do Love You" release on the label's 2010 Boddie Recording Company box set. Soon after West's solo album ye dropped, Berlin label Pan attacked West for sampling Kareem Lofty’s “Fr3sh” without permission on "I Thought About Killing You."

ADVERTISEMENT

In a statement, Pan said “It’s sadly another case of an artist who capitalizes on culture without any original ideas and because culture trickles up, this means we are all basically working for him. Everything leads to him, he’s the ultimate narcissist.”

Kanye West accused of stealing bass line for “I Love It”