Did Tracy Chapman sue Nicki Minaj? Details of 2018 lawsuit explored

In 2018, Nicki Minaj created a song for her fourth studio album - Queen. The track was titled Sorry, for which she used Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit Baby Can I Hold You as a sample. In October of that year, Chapman filed a lawsuit against Minaj for the track.

The 60-year-old's lawsuit claimed that Nicki Minaj gave Sorry away to a New York radio station when she didn't get Chapman's permission to use her song as a sample.

What Nicki did isn't anything new in the music industry. The practice of developing a new song based on existing material is prevalent. Ariana Grande's 7 Rings is an apt example of this, as it draws from the 1965 track My Favorite Things.

However, as a consequence of the lawsuit, the Pink Friday rapper had to drop Sorry from her fourth album's tracklist.

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Chapman's lawsuit alleged that Nicki Minaj leaked Sorry when she couldn't get her permission

According to BBC, Tracy Chapman's lawsuit claimed that Nicki Minaj attempted to get permission to use her track as a sample multiple times after she had already recorded Sorry. However, Chapman's representatives denied her request repeatedly.

Thereafter, the Hey Mama rapper gave the track to Funkmaster Flex, who played it on his radio show. The documents of the lawsuit stated that:

"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."

It continued:

"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."

After Sorry was played on Funkmaster Flex's radio show, it was recorded and reproduced on several websites, including YouTube.

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Minaj settled the lawsuit by offering a settlement of $450,000

In September 2020, in a partial judgment regarding the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Tracy Chapman against Nicki Minaj, the ruling was made in the latter's favor.

In doing so, the judge stated:

"Artists usually experiment with works before seeking licenses from rights holders and rights holders typically ask to see a proposed work before approving a license. A ruling uprooting these common practices would limit creativity and stifle innovation within the music industry."

The judge also mentioned that there was "no evidence" pointing towards Minaj's Sorry usurping "any potential market for Chapman" or her song, which was a personal guitar ballad.

The ruling was reached after the Only rapper's attorney argued that artists needed the freedom to create something new based on existing material without having to worry about being sued over it.

Such "free-flowing creativity" was essential for all recording artists, particularly in hip-hop.

They elaborated:

"With that category of music, a recording artist typically goes into the studio and experiments with dozens of different ‘beats’ or snippets of melodies, before hitting upon a pleasing combination."

Both Nicki Minaj and DJ Flex also denied Chapman's accusation of Sorry.

Ultimately, another trial was set up to explore how the track was leaked and distributed in January 2021. In order to avoid trial, Nicki offered Chapman a settlement of $450,000, also covering her legal fees, which the latter accepted. As a result, the trial was suspended and the lawsuit was settled out of court.

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Tracy Chapman, who is a four-time Grammy winner, released her eighth studio album - Our Bright Future - in 2008, and is yet to launch a ninth one.

Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj, who dropped her fifth studio album - Pink Friday 2 - in December last year, has recently announced the making of her sixth album, which will be titled Pink Friday 3. The release dates of the upcoming project will be dropped soon.