Nicki Minaj being sued for stealing Starships

A mysterious music producer known as Clive Tanaka is suing Nicki Minaj for copyright infringement.

In a lawsuit filed under the name of his company, Tanaka is accusing Minaj of stealing from his 2011 song Neu Chicago to create her 2012 smash hit Starships.

The suit, which was filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, claims Minaj and collaborators (producer RedOne and songwriters Carl Falk, Wayne Hector and Rami Yacoub) copied “substantial portions” of his dance track, that while not an international smash hit, had enjoyed extensive airplay in the US and online.

They also claim the track was licensed for two major Scandinavian TV commercials which RedOne, Falk and Yacoub (who lived in Sweden) had “good opportunity” to hear it.

Attorney Christopher Niro filed the lawsuit on behalf of Tenaka, whose real identity remains concealed. The only personal information revealed in the suit is that he was born in 1976 and is a U.S. citizen.

While Tanka’s electronic beats have won worldwide acclaim he has never performed in public, revealed his real name or even where he is from.

Niro told the Chicago Tribune Tanaka was “working on a new album and screenplay,” possibly in Argentina. “He’s kind of a reclusive — he makes and produces music and that’s his goal.”

Wherever Tanaka was in 2012 he couldn’t escape Starships and within six months of the song’s release he noted the similarity to his 2010 song.

Posting the two as a mash-up in August 2012, Tanaka posed the question “Neu Starships?”

“We believe they are similar to the point that it is nearly impossible for it to be a coincidence,” Niro said.

The suit demands damages for Starships’ detrimental impact on his “professional reputation and goodwill” as well as all the profits made from the song’s broadcast and sale.