American Hip Hop star, Nicki Minaj pays nearly R7million in settlement to Tracy Chapman.
Iconic musician, Tracy Chapman has just bagged a huge payday from Nicki Minaj. The “Fast Car” star who is known to always be very protective of her music recently got $450,000 in settlement from Nicki before a potential copyright Infringement case could go to court.
Apparently, Nicki sampled an interpolation of a Tracy’s “Baby Can I Hold You Now” hit song in an unreleased song titled “Sorry”. The song was meant for her 2018 album “Queen” but was not approved by Tracy. However, it got leaked prompting a lawsuit by Chapman.
A settlement of $450,000 (nearly R7million) was agree upon before the case could go to court. While Nicki is yet to speak out about it, Chapman told the New York Times that she accepted the settlement because going to trial would have cost more than the settlement.
“As a songwriter and an independent publisher I have been known to be protective of my work. I have never authorised the use of my songs for samples or requested a sample. This lawsuit was a last resort” – Tracy Chapman
