5 May 2022

Kanye West Sued By Pastor: Who Owns The Word of God?

A pastor from the U.S. has claimed that Kanye used parts of a sermon he gave without permission for the song Come to Life, Sky News reports.

Bishop David Paul Moten claims that parts of the sermon were used for 70 seconds throughout the track. That equates to more than 20% of the entire record which is five minutes and 10 seconds in length.

This information was obtained from Texas court documents that were seen by TMZ, the U.S. based showbiz website.

The Bishop claimed that his voice and sermon were used in the intro and looped throughout the track. 

Adam Brooks is a speaker and educator who has both parents in ministry. In an interview with Premier Gospels Cassandra he shares how he doesn't believe the pastor has a right to sue Ye, stating: "if Im preaching the gospel the idea that Im trying to claim that as a unique thought is almost a problem in itself because everything I say and speak should be inspired by God. 

Theres things that will be unique to me and my experiences but the core message of what Im saying is that Jesus died for your sins and you should give your heart to him, if you want to say thats plagiarising then every single pastor on every single Sunday is also plagiarising."

Watch the full discussion here:

Brooks also touched on what he thinks Pastor Moten should have done in this instance, challenging what it means to be Christian: "He hasnt just asked to be paid whats due to him, hes suing for $50 million so it becomes less about the act of being plagiarised and more about money grabbing.

As a pastor and preacher his first thought should be 'is the gospel being spread?' but instead hes thinking of what he can get out of it, which doesnt seem like the Christian thing to do to me."

According to TMZ, Bishop Moten mentioned that this is the latest example of Kanye and the music industry "willfully and egregiously sampling sound recordings of others without consent or permission."

At the start of Come to Life, the phrase "my soul cries out hallelujah and I thank God for saving me" can be heard. There are also other spoken word snippets woven in throughout the track.

Come to Life is the 22nd song on the Donda tracklist, Donda was released last year.

In addition to Kanye, Bishop Moten is said to be suing UMG Recordings, Def Jam Recordings and G.O.O.D Music over the track. TMZs report mentioned that damages are being sought from all of them. 

Additionally, TMZ said that they had reached out to Kanyes team for comment and are yet to hear back. 

Written by Premier Gospel Presenter, Hannah Lovejoy

May 5, 2022. Kanye West is reportedly being sued regarding one of the tracks that appeared on his Donda album last year.
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