Fresh on the heels of her drama with Cardi B, Nicki Minaj reportedly has beef with another musician — this time, of the legal variety.
According to a report from TMZ, "Fast Car" singer Tracy Chapman is suing Minaj over a track that was removed from the rapper’s new album Queen.
Per TMZ, the song in question is Minaj’s “Sorry,” which allegedly samples from Chapman’s 1988 song "Baby Can I Hold You."
According to the report, Minaj attempted to license "Baby Can I Hold You" for the Nas-guesting track, only for Chapman’s team to turn her down. Though "Sorry" is not featured on Minaj’s album, the track was released after Queen dropped, in August of 2018, when Funkmaster Flex played "Sorry" on Hot 97. This led to fans circulating “Sorry” around the internet. (It is not available on any official Minaj platforms.)
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Prior to Chapman reportedly suing over the song — and before Minaj’s Queen was released on August 10, 2018 — Minaj seemingly tweeted about her inability to receive the license for "Baby Can I Hold You."
According to Variety, the “Starships” singer wrote in a series of since-deleted tweets:
“So there’s a record on #Queen that features 1of the greatest rappers of all time,” she wrote, seemingly referring to Nas, who is featured on her song. "Had no clue it sampled the legend #TracyChapman — do I keep my date & lose the record? Or do I lose the record & keep my date? Do we push #Queen back 1week? Ugh! I’m torn, y’all help. Tracy Chapman, can you please hit me. omg for the love of #Queen."
In another removed tweet, Minaj wrote: "Sis said no."
According to TMZ, Chapman claims "Baby Can I Hold You" contains half of the lyrics and vocal melody of Minaj's nixed Queen number. A comparison of the two songs' lyrics reveals the choruses of both tracks are nearly identical. In addition to monetary damages, Chapman wants an order so that "Sorry" will not be played again.
Refinery29 has reached out to Minaj and Chapman for comment.
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