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In 2019, Kanye West worked on a biblical opera titled Nebuchadnezzar. Seven years later, it’s back in the headlines, but not for a good reason. A musician who worked on the project has filed a new lawsuit alleging the rapper locked him inside a Wyoming high school band room and ordered him to write the show from scratch. It is the latest in a long line of lawsuits Kanye West has had to deal with over the years.

Chase Taylor files a lawsuit against Kanye West over 2019 opera project

According to the complaint, first reported by Rolling Stone, opera musician Chase Taylor says Kanye recruited him for a starring role in what Taylor believed was a finished opera. Taylor says he flew from North Carolina to Wyoming with less than a week to rehearse. Instead of a rehearsal studio, he says, he was taken to Cody High School, led into the band room, and locked inside.

Once in the band room, Taylor says he discovered the opera was unfinished and that he was expected to finish it. Along with serving as the lead performer and soloist, he was allegedly expected to compose much of the music and make the production “performance-ready in just four days.” “Defendants locked the door and ordered Taylor to work until the opera was done,” the filing claims.

The lawsuit also accuses Kanye and his team of fraud. Taylor’s filing claims he only agreed to work at a reduced rate because he was told Nebuchadnezzar and a second opera, Mary, were charitable, non-profit religious productions meant to “save souls.” According to the complaint, that wasn’t true, and Kanye and his companies charged for tickets and kept the profits.

Taylor further alleges that Kanye later used his compositions and arrangements without permission or payment in commercially released songs, including “Telekinesis” and several tracks from Vultures 2.

He is asking the court to recognize his copyright ownership and award him a share of the profits from the songs, as well as damages for fraud, false imprisonment, and unfair business practices. The suit was filed Wednesday in federal court in North Carolina.

Kanye’s representatives have not publicly responded to the allegations.

He’s been sued multiple times before

Chase Taylor’s lawsuit is only the latest in a long line of complaints against Kanye and his business practices. Composer Willie Alexander filed a similar lawsuit saying he, too, was lured to Wyoming for Nebuchadnezzar. He also claims he expected a finished project, only to find the music hadn’t even been written. His case is still pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

In 2025, singer Alice Merton sued Kanye, alleging he used a sample of her song “Blindside” without permission. More than 10 years earlier, the children of the late musician David Pryor claimed Kanye used an unauthorized sample in his smash hit “Gold Digger.” Kanye has faced numerous other claims over unpaid work and copyright.

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