Kanye West and Solange Knowles have found themselves in the middle of a lawsuit for allegedly ripping off a song titled “If We Can’t Be Lovers.”
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Leroy Mitchell, also known as Prince Phillip Mitchell, wrote the single in 1970. According to him, Solange’s song, “F*** the Industry” and Kanye’s song, “Everything I Am”, both include a large sample of his work and without his permission.
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Neither of the songs were charting singles. In fact, TMZ reports that Solange’s song was originally supposed to be on a mix tape, titled “I Can’t Get Clearance.”
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Mitchell is seeking damages and wants both performers to stop performing the songs, as well as removing the songs from airplay.
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Mitchell is asking for punitive damages and says that West and Knowles willfully committed the infringement.
