Music Business Worldwide reports that producers Jae Deal and Marlon Barrow filed a copyright lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles on November 6, accusing Ye, Ty Dolla $ign, Yeezy Record Label LLC, Yeezy LLC and Create Music Group of the "knowing, continuous, and blatant unauthorized use" of a 2018 recording called Joint 2, which the pair co-own along with its composition and five stems.

According to the complaint, Ty Dolla $ign heard the music playing in the background during a phone call with Barrow, his collaborator of decades, then asked for a copy.

Barrow allegedly sent only an MP3 by text, holding back stems pending a written licensing agreement — which, the producers say, was never negotiated. Barrow later turned down requests for the stems, and the filing claims Ty shared the MP3 with Ye.

The complaint, obtained by MBW, states that two versions of Vultures were released on or around November 18, 2023, with Barrow given a producer credit but no compensation, while Deal received neither credit nor payment.

The producers say they learned of the release after the fact, and MBW reports that from December 15, 2023 Deal sought takedowns via Create Music Group, YouTube and Spotify.

After producer 88-Keys, described in the complaint as Yeezy's Head of Music, contacted them in January 2024, the track nonetheless appeared on the Vultures Pack EP and then became the title track of Vultures 1, which topped the Billboard 200.

Power 105.1 FM, citing Billboard's report, adds that a "buy-out settlement" was offered after the song dropped and declined, with the sample remaining on the song.

The stakes stretch well beyond the more than 130 million Spotify streams the complaint claims the Vultures tracks have generated.

Music Business Worldwide reports the lawsuit ties the song to Yeezy merchandise and ticketed listening events: Ye publicly posted a $19.3 million sales figure in February 2024 — though it was widely reported at the time as roughly 24 hours of yeezy.com sales after his Super Bowl ad, not two months of Vultures merch — and the complaint alleges Vultures merchandise grossed more than $100 million total, plus over $12 million in listening-party tickets where, the filing states, the duo "merely hit play."

The producers seek actual damages and defendants' profits, or alternatively up to $150,000 in statutory damages per act of willful infringement for both the recording and composition — a theoretical $300,000 maximum complicated by their January 11, 2024 registration date.

This is not the first Vultures dispute, and MBW's reporting places the new case in a pattern. Donna Summer's estate sued over Good (Don't Die) in February 2024 and settled that June, with the pair agreeing not to distribute the track.

Criminal Manne, DJ Squeeky and the estate of Kilo G sued over Fuk Sumn in November 2024, with settlements in principle reached in 2025 and 2026.

Alice Merton's case over Gun to My Head and the Swsh/Future Bounce suit over 530 remain ongoing, and in May 2026 a Los Angeles jury ordered Ye to pay $438,558 over a Hurricane sample played at a Donda listening event.

Deal and Barrow are also asking the court to halt distribution and impound all copies and stems — which could take a Billboard 200 No. 1 title track off streaming entirely. Per Power 105.1 FM, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign had not responded as of its report.