Pusha T’s “Come Back Baby,” produced by Kanye West, features a prominent sample of George Jackson’s “I Can’t Do Without You” – however it seems the sample was not cleared. Plaintiff FAME Enterprises Inc. is suing Pusha, West, and Universal Music Group as the defendants. “I Can’t Do Without You” never received an official release until 2011, but its copyright dates back to 1969 when it was first recorded. FAME Enterprises is the recording studio where Jackson worked for much of his career as a songwriter.
This is the latest in a series of sample-related lawsuits West has faced recently, including ones related to songs like “Ultralight Beam,” “Lift Yourself,” and “I Love It.” The “Come Back Baby’ lawsuit notes, “Defendants have a pattern and practice of willfully sampling sound recordings without consent or permission.”
Editorial credit: Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com