American rapper Canye West, now known as Ye, is facing another court indictment regarding the Bible opera Usbuchadnezzar, introduced in 2019 in Hollywood Bowl.
Musician Chase Taylor has indicted the rapper, claiming he was kept in a high school environment in Wyoming and was forced to compose a large part of opera music, under difficult conditions and within an extremely short term.
According to the indictment, initially reported by Ryling Stone magazine, Taylor had been contacted by West to take a key role in this production, in the belief that the opera was already completed.
The musician had traveled from North Carolina to Wyoming less than a week before the trial began. However, after his arrival, he was sent to Cody High School, where he was placed in a room used by the school orchestra and, according to his claims, the door was closed.
Only then did Taylor realize that opera was still far from finished. Besides interpreting the key role and performance as a soloist, he was asked to compose a considerable part of the music and complete the production within just four days.
The defendants closed the door and ordered Taylor to work until the opera was completed, the court document said.
According to the indictment, West and his associates had promised the musician a large payment, credit as a producer, and other future co-operation opportunities in exchange for his work. Taylor claims he had rejected the conditions under which he was staying, but his complaints were ignored.
Photo: Kanye West/Instagram
He also claims that he was tasked with coordinating other musicians who, when needed to rest, were forced to sit down or sleep on the floor of the orchestra’s narrow room.
The indictment reportedly said that West and his team had not provided enough food for more than 150 performers involved in production.
Taylor claims he had requested opening doors, providing enough food and water, as well as time for holiday for musicians, but his demands were ignored.
The new indictment was handed over Wednesday to a federal court in North Carolina. According to the report, Taylor and West representatives had reached an agreement in 2020 to suspend legal deadlines so that they could have time to resolve the dispute without addressing the court.
This is not the first lawsuit related to production {Nebuchadnezzar. Even musician Willie Alexander has set up a court process, claiming that he had been invited to Wyoming to work in the opera, but had discovered only after he arrived that the work had not yet been written.
According to his claims, Alexander had been forced to compose and orchestrate most of the opera almost from the beginning within a very short term.
His indictment includes claims of deliberate mismanagement and carelessness, unauthorized use of images and false promises concerning professional commitment. This process is under way at the Los Angeles County Supreme Court, while a conference on resolving the dispute is scheduled for January 12th, 2027.
West, meanwhile, has agreed to pay $1.35m to resolve another collective indictment filed on behalf of hundreds of performers and employees involved in the 2019 production.
The agreement was eventually approved by the court in July 2025 and, according to documents provided by Roldling Stonechev, more than 600 people have received payment checks. However, 257 of them, worth a total of $27,210, were not collected within the set term. On this issue, a session for a review of the status agreement is scheduled for 8 December.
In the new indictment, Taylor also raises claims on the way operas were introduced to Nbuchadnezzar and Mary. According to him, musicians were told that it was about religious – character charity projects and that income would be used to save souls. This, according to the plaintiff, had convinced them to accept lower payments.
However, he claims that productions generated revenue through ticket sales and that West and the companies involved had benefited financially from them.
Another weighty claim by Taylor relates to the later use of his music. He accuses of using the compositions and arrangements performed for the opera in commercially published songs without obtaining his permission and offering corresponding compensation.
Among the songs mentioned in the indictment is Travis Scott’s Elevators, where Canye West figures as coauthor, as well as some projects from the album Vultures 250.
Through this trial, Taylor requires that the court recognizes the right to authorship on its compositions, secures a portion of the profits from songs in which it claims to be used without authorization, and assigns compensation for fraud, illegal deprivation of freedom, and unfair trade practices.
Until reporting was published by Roldling Stone, Canye West representatives and lawyers had returned no response to the requests for comment. /Telegraphy/