Nicki Minaj Fires Back At Allegations She Refused To Turn Over Evidence in Court Battle

Getty

Nicki Minaj is firing back at accusations she withheld private texts in a nasty court battle.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Minaj is responding to the recent allegations made by singer Tracy Chapman.

Chapman sued Minaj accusing her of sampling her work without permission. Minaj denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

In a recent motion, Chapman accused Minaj of refusing to turn over key evidence in the case. She asked for the trial to be postponed due to Minaj’s alleged delay tactics.

She demanded the rapper hand over private text messages with her ex-manager Gerald “Gee” Roberson and Funkmaster Flex, believing they would help her case.

In newly filed docs, Minaj responds to Chapman’s allegations she was playing games. The rapper says Chapman was well aware of both her ex-manager and Funkmaster Flex prior to her recent demand.

Getty

In regard to her text conversation with Funkmaster Flex, Minaj tells Chapman to get them from Flex.

Her lawyer argued, “Ms. Maraj testified at her deposition that the communications in question had been transmitted just a couple of weeks prior. They physically could not have been produced with Ms. Maraj’s September 6 production, therefore, as they did not exist at that time. Second, even if they had existed in advance, at the very least, persuasive legal authority suggests that Ms. Maraj would have been justified in omitting these communications and the document attached to them from her production on the grounds that they are protected work product under Rule 26(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure."

Further, “Once again, legal issues abound and suggest Ms. Chapman would be better served by attempting to speak directly to Flex herself—which raises the question of why she had not done so already.”

Minaj is asking for Chapman’s motion to be denied entirely.

Getty

Last year, singer Tracy Chapman sued Minaj accusing her of copyright infringement. She accused Minaj of sampling her song "Baby Can I Hold You" on a track with Nas titled "Sorry."

Chapman accused her of not getting permission to sample her work nor was she paid.

Minaj denied all allegations of wrongdoing and demanded the case be dismissed.

The rapper Minaj admitted her team made several requests to Chapman to use her music and says those requests were denied. She also says she did record the song before getting permission.

In the court docs, Minaj says she did want to put "Sorry" on her album "Queen" but left it off due to not having clearance.

The song was eventually leaked to Funkmaster Flex, who posted it on social media, and then it went viral soon after.

Minaj argues the use of Chapman’s sample in her song was fair use and even says Chapman doesn’t own the copyright to the sampled track. Minaj is demanding the entire lawsuit be thrown out.

Getty

The two were recently unable to reach a settlement during mediation. The court docs note on October 2 the parties tried to privately hash out their issues. However, “the mediation was unsuccessful, and no settlement was reached. Settlement in not imminent.”

Minaj is also involved in a nasty court battle with her ex-stylist.