Kanye West‘s upcoming collaborative album Vultures may be in trouble after he reportedly failed to get permission to use a sample from the Backstreet Boys.

The controversial 46-year-old rapper has lately been teasing a song featuring a significant sample of the iconic boy band’s 1997 hit, which also includes additional interpolation of the tune by West’s album collaborator Ty Dolla Sign.

He showcased the song in full on Monday night’s album launch party, when he also shocked fans by wearing a pointy black cloth hood reminiscent of a Ku Klux Klan uniform.

Sources close the the Backstreet Boys told TMZ on Tuesday that West never got clearance for the sample from the group, which is comprised of members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson.

Video of the rapper playing the track for a rapturous crowd indicate that his song — which a track listing indicates is also titled Everybody — opens with what sounds like a slowed-down, pitch-shifted sample of the opening of the Backstreet Boys’ single, along with extra percussion, bass and synthesizer tones.

Kanye West, 46, appears to use a portion of the Backstreet Boys’ 1997 hit Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) on his upcoming album Vultures, but he reportedly has not gotten permission from the boy band; seen Monday in Miami

Sources close to the Backstreet Boys tell TMZ that the quintet have not cleared the sample for West, putting the song’s future in jeopary

Then the song shifts into a version of Ty Dolla Sign appearing to sing the original song’s lyrics.

However, TMZ added that the version of the song played in Miami for his album launch also seems to have additional voices covering the chorus, which could mean that it is not technically a sample, but rather an interpolation, or a new performance of the music without the original track featured.

As the outlet notes, West’s alleged lack of clearance for Everybody could shake up his album release strategy, as he reportedly plans to release his LP Vultures this week.

The song featuring the sample is currently listed as the first track on the album, so it’s the first thing many of the hitmaker’s fans will hear.

However, if he’s merely using a new performance of portions of the Backstreet Boys song without using the group’s original recording, then he may be able to skirt by without permission.

He would still be required to credit the original songwriters, Denniz Pop and Max Martin, and pay out royalties, but he likely would not have needed permission from the original performers if the version of the song is not a sample of their original recording, according to the US Copyright Office’s guidance on interpolating sound recordings.

It’s unclear if either of the original songwriters have been contacted by West or have given permission, though it’s not uncommon for rap producers to choose to ask for forgiveness instead of asking for permission.

The sources close to the Backstreet Boys didn’t clarify if West had reached out to the group and been denied, or if he never bothered to contact them about using their song, which is now more than a quarter of a century old.

West’s last few albums have also suffered numerous delays at the last minute as the musical mastermind changed elements and rushed to meet self-imposed deadlines, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Vultures was delayed for reasons other than the sampling snafu.

West played a version of his own song Everybody that may have included a sample of the Backstreet Boys song followed by an interpolation by Ty Dolla Sign

The track, also called Everybody, was listed as the first song on their collaborative album, according to a track listing put out by Ty Dolla Sign

West and Ty Dolla Sign reportedly want to put out their album Vultures this week, but the controversy could ruin the timing

However, TMZ added that extra vocals heard in a video of the performance raise the possibility that West has only interpolated Everybody, rather than sampling it, in which case he would only need permission from the original songwriters, rather than the Backstreet Boys

It’s not just sampling issues bedeviling West, as his penchant for controversial and offensive displays was in full effect on Monday evening.

During a performance of his new songs, he added to his all-black ensemble with an eerie black hoodie that came to a point and featured ragged cut-out eye holes.

The look was reminiscent of the hoods worn by Ku Klux Klan members when they are in their full robes.

Although members of the hate group are best known for wearing white robes, members of the group’s Knighthawks, a form of security for the racist and antisemitic group, wear black robes and hoods, according to the ADL.

It’s not the first time West has created the shocking display, as he previously wore a pointy black hood at the beginning of his music video for his 2013 song Black Skinhead.

The single, which was featured on his album Yeezus, was met with nearly unanimous critical praise at the time, though the song stalled out at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

The aggressive single has been interpreted as an anti-racist confrontation, but his reprisal of the hood was met with widespread scorn and outrage based on the rapper’s most recent controversies.

He has been widely lambasted for several antisemitic statements in recent months, including a provocation on Vultures’ title track in which he raps in deadpan: ‘How am I antisemitic? I just f***ed a Jewish b****.’

West’s performance on Monday featured a shocking display when he donned a pointy black hood reminiscent of robes worn by the KKK

He has previously worn a black hood on the video for his 2013 song Black Skinhead, but that track was interpreted in an anti-racist light, while West has made multiple statements deemed racist and antisemitic in recent years; seen Monday in Miami

West has also made statements deemed to be racist, and last year he courted outrage at Paris Fashion Week when he — and several of his models — debuted a shirt reading ‘White Lives Matter’ at his fashion show.

Adding to the controversy was the presence of far-right political commentator Candace Owens, who wore the same shirt and joined him.

Some fans were particularly upset by West’s use of the hood on Monday, as he wore it while his oldest daughter North West, 10, was near him on stage.

Two of his other children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian — Saint, eight, and Chicago, five — were also in attendance at the performance, though his youngest son Psalm, four, appears to have sat it out.

Source: Dailymail.com