Following more than a two year long dispute over Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit ‘Baby Can I Hold You’, rapper Nicki Minaj has offered singer Tracy Chapman an apology worth $450,000 (£332,000).
The copyright infringement suit which arose in 2018, detailed how four-time Grammy winner Tracy Chapman refused a number of requests made by Nicki Minaj to sample ‘Baby Can I Hold You’ and whilst the rapper’s song was never ‘officially’ released, it had leaked and been played on the radio by DJ Funkmaster Flex and thereafter went viral online.
In an earlier judgement, it was confirmed that Minaj’s use of Chapman’s song accounted to “fair use”, a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first obtain permission from the copyright holder (Chapman).
U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips allowed the case to go to trial over the question of how the song made its way to DJ Funkmaster Flex. In the instance that Chapman’s lawyers were able to evidence that Minaj had leaked the song herself, or authorised its release through intermediaries, she may have been liable for significant penalties.
On 17 December 2020, Minaj’s lawyers made an offer of $450,000 which was accepted by Chapman’s team on 30 December 2020.
Minaj’s attorney, Peter W. Ross, said that his client “settled for one reason only. It would have cost us more to go to trial.”
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