Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has reached a settlement with German singer-songwriter Alice Merton over her claim that he sampled her 2022 song "Blindside" without permission. Merton said she had turned down a request to license the sample for "Gun to My Head" because of Ye's public antisemitic remarks and her family's ties to Holocaust survivors. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
A Nov. 6 court filing reported by Billboard said the agreement depends on both sides fulfilling certain obligations. U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha dismissed the case without prejudice and canceled the trial scheduled for March 15, 2027. Either side can ask to reopen the case within 90 days if the agreement falls through. The parties told the court they intend to seek a permanent dismissal once they have fulfilled the terms.
According to Merton's complaint, Ye played "Gun to My Head" at a Miami listening event in December 2023, roughly two months before his team approached BMG for permission to use "Blindside." Merton and her team declined the request in March 2024. She explained in the lawsuit that members of her Jewish family survived the Holocaust and that she did not want her music associated with Ye in light of his remarks.
Merton alleged that "Gun to My Head," a collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi, reproduced a melody from "Blindside" and used a recording of her opening vocal line. The track appeared on a digital deluxe edition of Vultures 2 in August 2024. Her complaint says BMG sent a cease-and-desist letter that month. Merton and two companies filed the federal copyright suit against Ye and Yeezy Record Label LLC in March 2025.
Ye's attorneys challenged the evidence supporting Merton's copyright claim and asked the judge to strike references to antisemitism and the Holocaust from the complaint. The judge denied that request, finding that Merton's account of her family history and Ye's remarks helped explain why she declined to license her song.
The settlement follows a separate copyright verdict against Ye in May. In that case, a federal jury found him liable for using an uncleared sample in an early version of "Hurricane" that he played at a 2021 Donda listening event in Atlanta. Ye removed the recording before releasing the album version.
