News: Nicki Minaj To Pay Tracy Chapman $450,000 in Settlement

Nicki Minaj has agreed to pay Tracy Chapman $450,000 to settle a lawsuit filed back in 2018. The copyright infringement case stemmed from a sample that Nicki used on a song which was released during that time.

Nicki Minaj sampled Tracy’s “Baby Can I Hold You” track from 1988 for her single “Sorry” released in 2018. When Nicki attempted to clear the sample, the request was denied on Chapman’s end. The song was still placed on Nicki’s album and premiered to the world by Funk Flex who stated Nicki was the source of the songs origin.

In court documents filed last month, three months before the case was set for trial, Nicki and her lawyers offered the $450,000 settlement which included all lawyer fees. Chapman’s and her team accepted the offer of judgement which was signed on December 30, 2020. Back in September, a court filed in favor of Nicki, saying she had the right to make the song. But, the question at hand was whether Nicki and her team were liable for the track going public after clearance was denied.