Tracy Chapman has sued Nicki Minaj over a music sample.
The rapper allegedly sampled the singer’s hit, ‘Baby Can I Hold You’, without being granted permission by Tracy.
The 35-year-old reportedly asked for permission to sample the track multiple times, after she had already used it in an unreleased track.
Although the rapper was reportedly denied use of the song many times, she allegedly still sent the finished track to a music DJ, who played it on his radio show and teased it on his social media accounts.
“This action is necessary to redress Maraj’s disregard and wilful infringement of Chapman’s rights under the Copyright Act, and to ensure that her misconduct is not repeated,” the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit also claimed that although Nicki didn’t release the song on her album, it was played on radio and was then recorded and recreated on the internet.
“Maraj wrongfully deprived Chapman of the right and opportunity to decide whether to allow the use of the composition, and, if so, on what terms,” the lawsuit claimed.
Before the release of her highly-anticipated album, ‘Queen’, Nicki told fans that the release date had been pushed back as she was trying to get permission to sample Tracy’s song on one of her tracks.
