Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has long been a magnet for controversy over his sampling practices. Throughout his decade-long career, court records show that the rapper has been hit with at least 14 lawsuits over claims of unlicensed sampling or interpolation. And nine of them have surfaced since 2019 alone. Even his 2024 album 'Vultures' was not immune to the drama. This time around, a rising star, Star Boy, has challenged the ‘Donda’ rapper with his refusal to clear samples. 

Star Boy has drawn a hard line in the sand with clearing samples- no matter who the artist is or how fat the paycheck is.

Star Boy recently announced that he will not be clearing the sample for his anticipated collaboration with Destroy Lonely, ‘Holding It Down’. After Lonely took to X to explain why the song was cut from his album, Star Boy made it clear on Instagram that he is not down to clearing anything. "I ain't clearing s**t," he wrote. He then followed up with another Instagram story, calling out Ye. Making it clear that even Ye is not getting any special treatment, the rapper added, "I ain't clear @Ye s**t either”. 

‘Holding It Down’ was a track Destroy Lonely had planned for the second version of his new album, 'Love Lasts Forever'. But Star Boy explained he will not be clearing songs that go against his beliefs. "Not clearing anything ungodly for any amount of money," he declared. However, it would be a stretch to say Star Boy has not lent his talents to songs with "ungodly" messages in the past.

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In fact, Star Boy’s track record in music production raises doubts about whether this refusal is really about his principles or if there is some hidden beef behind it.

Even though Star Boy is not as popular yet, he has caught the eye of many big names in the music world. He has multiple credits on Playboi Carti's 'Whole Lotta Red' and Ken Carson's 'A Great Chaos', some of the most controversial projects. And that is not all. Star Boy has also worked with polarizing artists like Ye himself. The 'Graduation' creator reportedly even booked a recording session with him.

His reasoning for not clearing samples, therefore, is a bit unclear. Nonetheless, given Ye’s history of not bothering to clear samples before using them, it is hard to say if Star Boy’s warning will make much of a difference. Regardless of what happens with Ye and Star Boy, it looks like Destroy Lonely fans will have to go without ‘Holding It Down’ for the foreseeable future.

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What do you think about Star Boy's message for Ye? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!