LOS ANGELES — Rapper Nicki Minaj is being sued for sampling a Tracy Chapman song without permission.
Chapman filed a copyright infringement lawsuit Monday in a Los Angeles federal court. The Grammy-winning singer says Minaj's unreleased track "Sorry" incorporates the lyrics and vocal melody from her 1988 single "Baby Can I Hold You.
The lawsuit states the "Fast Car" singer repeatedly denied multiple requests to sample her song for Minaj's fourth album "Queen."
Minaj's representatives did not respond to emails seeking comment.
"Sorry" was not included on Minaj's album but Chapman alleges the rapper gave it to a popular New York disc jockey who played the song on the radio and posted it to his social media accounts in August.
Chapman is suing for unspecified damages and wants to prevent Minaj from releasing "Sorry" commercially.
The court documents also claim that Funkmaster Flex played it on his radio show.
"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 adds.
The legal documents claim that in July, Nicki tweeted she had "no clue" she had sampled Tracy's song and asked whether she should keep to the release date for her album Queen or lose the song.
In another tweet she also "reached out" to Tracy to ask for permission to use the sample for Sorry.
The lawsuit says Queen was released in August without the song included but it was played by Funkmaster Flex, real name Aston George Taylor, on his radio show.
The legal documents claim it was then reproduced on several different websites.
"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 claims.
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