Tracy Chapman Is Still Suing Nicki Minaj For Unpaid Royalties From A Song Cut From ‘Queen’

Tracy Chapman is suing Nicki Minaj for unpaid royalties over a song cut from Queen, according to TMZ. Remember when Nicki Minaj used her social media to jostle her fans about Queen‘s release date? She waffled for a bit about whether to delay the album to give her time to clear a sample for a song featuring Nas before ultimately releasing it either on schedule or a week early, depending on which date you happened to be banking on at the time.

Well, that song, “Sorry,” found its way online after the album’s release anyway, delighting her disappointed Barbz, but creating one very ticked off musical legend. The song uses a prominent sample of Chapman’s 1988 song “Baby Can I Hold You,” but as it turns out, Nicki or her team never cleared it. In fact, it appears Nicki had given up pursuing the sample as a bad job, telling her fans in a now-deleted tweet, “Sis said no.” The song still found its way into rotation on radio when Funkmaster Flex played it on Hot 97.

Chapman doesn’t seem entirely concerned about how the song made its way into the wild. She just wants an order prohibiting Nicki from putting the song out or performing it — as well as unpaid royalties from the unauthorized sample.