Lawsuit Alleges Copyright Infringement: Nicki Minaj and Mike Will Make It Accused of Plagiarism
Renowned rapper Nicki Minaj and producer Mike Will Make It are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over their popular 2014 single, “I Lied.” Musician Julis Johnson has filed a complaint in California, claiming that Minaj and Mike Will Made It directly copied his beat for the song.
According to the lawsuit obtained by The Post, Johnson asserts that his song titled “onmysleeve” was published on YouTube in 2011, three years prior to the release of Minaj’s “I Lied” on her album “The Pinkprint.” Johnson alleges that his beat was stored on a hard drive, which was unlawfully taken from a studio session without his consent in 2013 when he was a student at the Art Institute of Atlanta.
Johnson further claims that individuals associated with Minaj and Mike Will, including their associates or affiliates who had access to the recording space at the institute, potentially obtained his hard drive during that period. The lawsuit names producers Ester Renay Dean and Skooly, along with Universal Music Group and other record labels, as additional defendants.
The suit argues that both “onmysleeve” and “I Lied” possess substantially identical underlying instrumentation, beat, style instrument bed, rhythm, beats per minute, and song key. Johnson is seeking the profits earned by Minaj and Mike Will from the song and requests that the court order them to either cease using it or provide proper credit to him on “I Lied” and the album.
“The Pinkprint” album, which featured “I Lied,” garnered significant success, accumulating 16.8 million streams across all on-demand streaming services in the United States during its first week alone. The album received a double platinum certification in February 2016.
As the lawsuit unfolds, listeners are encouraged to evaluate the similarities between the songs and form their own opinion on the matter.
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Written by
Derek Chan – Editor
