Nicki Minaj Sued By Mysterious Artist Over ‘Starships’

Nicki Minaj is being sued by mysterious Chicago artist Clive Tanaka, who claims that the Young Money rapper/singer and her producers stole his song to create last year's summer smash, 'Starships.'

Tanaka's track, 'Neu Chicago,' is a vacation-y, upbeat dance track that appeared on his 2010 album, 'Jet Set Siempre 1.' According to the 'Chicago Tribune,' he contends in his lawsuit that his song received thousands of online streams and substantial airplay in the U.S. by the time Minaj's song was conceived.

The mysterious artist also notes that 'Neu Chicago' was used in several television campaigns in Sweden. He ties that bit of information to the fact that some of Minaj's songwriters and producers are Swedish citizens and had many chances to hear his song. They, too, are named in the suit and are as follows: Producer RedOne and songwriters Carl Falk, Wayne Hector, and Rami Yacoub.

Tanaka filed the suit about one year after posting the following track to his Soundcloud page that places 'Neu Chicago' and 'Starships' side by side.

You can watch the 'Neu Chicago' and 'Starships' videos below for comparison's sake.