Source: Invision/AP
Legal woes are brewing for rapper Nicki Minaj who is being sued by singer Tracy Chapman for copyright infringement.
Chapman, who rose to fame with her 1988 hit
Fast Car, claims Minaj sampled her song,
Baby Can I Hold You, without permission.
According to
Blast, Minaj’s team reached out to Chapman earlier this summer to see if she would sign off on allowing a sample to be used on a song called
Sorry Minaj was recording with Nas. Chapman declined the offer, only to have Minaj’s team try once more a short time after.
Sorry was meant to be featured on Minaj’s new album, but after Chapman refused to have
Baby Can I Hold You sampled on the track, the song was cut.
However, Chapman claims Minaj leaked the song on August 11th to Funkmaster Flex, who ultimately played the track on HOT 97 that evening. Chapman claims the song then appeared on another radio show before circulating on the internet.
Chapman is seeking an injunction barring Minaj from using the song again and is seeking unspecified damages, according to
Blast.