Opera musician Chase Taylor filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday in North Carolina, alleging that Kanye West and his production team locked him inside a high school band room in Wyoming to urgently compose music for the 2019 biblical opera Nebuchadnezzar, Rolling Stone reported.
Taylor stated in the 45-page complaint that he flew from North Carolina to Wyoming with less than a week until the Hollywood Bowl performance, believing the production was already finished. Instead, he was taken to Cody High School, ushered inside a band room, and told the doors were locked until the score was complete.
“Defendants locked the door and ordered Taylor to work until the opera was done. To secure Taylor’s compliance, defendants including West promised lucrative compensation, producer credit, and future work,” the lawsuit says.
The filing claims Taylor was forced to manage more than 150 performers who had to sleep on the floor of the cramped room due to a lack of proper accommodations and insufficient food and water. Taylor alleges that his objections and requests to unlock the doors were ignored by West and his employees.
Taylor alleges that he was persuaded to work at reduced rates under the false pretense that both Nebuchadnezzar and a second opera titled Mary were non-profit religious productions meant to save souls. The lawsuit states that attendees were actually charged for tickets and profits were pocketed.
Furthermore, the complaint accuses West of incorporating Taylor’s uncompensated compositions into commercially released tracks, including Travis Scott’s song “Telekinesis” and tracks from Vultures 2. The lawsuit seeks copyright recognition, a share of profits, and damages for fraud, false imprisonment, and unfair business practices.
This federal action follows a similar lawsuit filed by fellow musician Willie Alexander in Los Angeles County Superior Court, who also claims he was lured to Wyoming for Nebuchadnezzar and was “shocked to discover that the opera had not been written at all.” Alexander’s case remains pending, with a mandatory settlement conference scheduled for Jan. 12, 2027.
In a separate legal dispute involving the same 2019 production, West agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle a class-action lawsuit for hundreds of performers and workers. A court granted final approval for that settlement in July 2025, though court filings indicate that 257 checks totaling $277,210 went uncashed by the deadline. A hearing to review the status of that settlement is set for Dec. 8.
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