Nicki Minaj and Producer Mike Will Made-It Named in Copyright Infringement Lawsuit over “I Lied”.
A copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed against Nicki Minaj and producer Mike Will Made-It, alleging that the beat used in the track “I Lied” from Nicki’s album “The Pinkprint” was stolen. Julius Johnson, the plaintiff, claims that he noticed striking similarities between “I Lied” and his own song titled “onmysleeve,” which he had previously published on YouTube in 2011.
According to TMZ, Johnson asserts that everything from the instrumentation to the beat itself is identical in both songs. He states that he first heard “I Lied” in the previous year and recognized the alleged infringement. However, sources close to Nicki have reportedly indicated that the lawsuit pertains to a dispute on the production side and that the rapper herself is not directly involved. The insider stressed that Nicki’s focus is on her lyricism, and any issues related to production would need to be addressed by the relevant parties.
Mike Will Made-It, who is credited as a producer on “I Lied,” previously spoke about the track in a 2014 interview with Complex. He expressed that listeners should expect an unexpected surprise when hearing the song for the first time, comparing its potential impact to TLC’s “Unpretty,” which resonated with many females. Johnson’s lawsuit claims that he experienced an unexpected surprise of his own in 2013 when his hard drive, containing the beat for “onmysleeve,” was allegedly stolen from a studio session while he attended the Art Institute of Atlanta. He alleges that associates Nicki and Mike Will were present at the school during the same period.
The lawsuit raises serious allegations regarding the alleged infringement, and the legal process will determine the outcome of this case.
