Kanye West has argued that his track ‘Stronger’ is inspired by the German philosopher Nietzsche.
Kanye West: a Sudoko puzzle wrapped inside a crossword. The rapper is one of the most famous men on the planet, yet his glaring contradictions make him a difficult man to pin down.
Currently fighting a plagiarism court case, the hip hop icon revealed a taste for German philosophy. ‘Stronger’ is the subject of a copyright suit, with songwriter Vincent Rogers claiming that his intellectual property has been violated.
The songwriter argues that ‘Stronger’ bears more than a passing resemblance to a previously released work of his – also titled ‘Stronger’. In addition to this, the two tracks both reference Kate Moss and use the phrase “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
In his defence, Kanye West has argued that he was inspired by the work of 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who originally coined the maxim “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the case was initially dismissed by a federal judge earlier this year. However Vincent Rogers is continuing to fight his corner, launching an appeal with the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Carrie Hall, the lawyer acting on behalf of Kanye West, has argued that if Rogers succeeded “it would create a dangerously low threshold for establishing copyright protection over otherwise commonplace words and phrases”.
The case is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Kanye West is facing a different copyright suit. Together with Jay-Z, the rapper is accused of sampling soul icon Syl Johnson’s ‘Different Strokes’ for ‘Watch The Throne’ highlight ‘The Joy’.
Syl Johnson’s label Numero Group issued a statement recently launching the fight. “Wondering why we weren’t consulted on this new use, and baffled why we appear in the credits, for which we never asked, we contacted the sample clearance house. Even they cannot get a response from their own clients.”
“Island Def Jam seems to think that Syl doesn’t have any fight left in him. We’re betting otherwise.”
