Heavy On It

Nicki Minaj Calls Out Rappers For Signing With White Record Labels

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Nicki Minaj had a bone to pick on Wednesday night. The rapper decided to hop on social media and air out her frustrations with the upcoming generation of artists. She initially made headlines for unfollowing the likes of JT and Ice Spice on Instagram, but Minaj had bigger fish to fry. The Young Money icon had a serious issue with the fact that so many African American artists are choosing to sign with record labels owned by white people. Minaj went on to contrast this pattern with the label she owns, Heavy On It.

“Motherf*cker tell somebody they don’t want to sign with Heavy On It,” she noted. “But then they’ll go and sign with the white peoples. And guess who the white peoples finna call?” Nicki Minaj then names herself. “They always get the attention of the Barbz.” The rapper took things a step further by claiming that the upcoming version of her album, Pink Friday 2, will be limited to Heavy On It signees. The names she considers worth spotlighting. “You will be surprised,” Minaj noted. “And I’m not talking about doing ad-libs on any songs. If your name is not on Pink Friday 2, they’re not a Heavy On It artist.”

Read More: Nicki Minaj Prepares To Embark On “Gag City Reloaded” Tour

Nicki Minaj Wants More Artists To Sign To Her Label

The Heavy On It connection seems somewhat connected to Nicki Minaj’s problems with Ice Spice. It was widely speculated that Ice Spice was signed with Heavy On it in 2023. It was later confirmed, though, that the “Munch” rapper had inked a deal with Virgin Records. Spice’s debut album, Y2K, was just put out through Virgin. Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice experienced joint success with their single “Princess Diana.” That said, there has been nothing but tension between the two since. The fact that Minaj unfollowed Ice Spice on IG is further proof that things are not friendly between them.

It’s worth zooming out and looking at Nicki Minaj’s record deal. The rapper signed to Young Money in 2009. Lil Wayne and Birdman were the figureheads of Young Money, but the label is part of Universal Music Group. Who owns UMG? Lucian Grainge. The same Lucian Grainge Kanye West ranted about when he was dissing Drake on the “Like That” remix. Nicki Minaj may be frustrated with the decisions that younger artists have made, but she’s technically guilty of the same sin she’s accusing them of.

Read More: Nicki Minaj Enlists Cardi B’s Rival Bia For “Gag City Reloaded” Tour 

The post Nicki Minaj Calls Out Rappers For Signing With White Record Labels appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj Release “Princess Diana” Remix EP

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The long-awaited link-up between Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice finally happened. The Bronx baddie emerged as one of the most thrilling artists out of the New York drill scene, thanks to the success of “Munch.” However, her subsequent releases cemented her spot in the rap game as a whole. At this point, it’s impossible to deny her presence. With Nicki Minaj jumping on the official remix of “Princess Diana,” they’ve now formed a strong alliance that will undoubtedly lead to further collaborations in the future.

Just days after the remix arrived, Nicki and Ice Spice are back with the re-up. The two released the official remix EP of the project including five other renditions of the record. Along with the original and Nicki’s remix, there’s the “extendo clip” version. Nicki comes through with an additional verse to close out the record. On top of that, the new EP includes the instrumental, a slowed-down, and a sped-up version. It looks like Nicki and Ice Spice are aiming to take the remix to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. This would mark Ice Spice’s second top 10 record following the success of PinkPantheress’ “Boys A Liar Pt. 2.”

Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Connect

The release of Nicki Minaj’s remix of “Princess Diana” marked the beginning of a fruitful relationship between herself and Ice Spice. Nicki reportedly announced that she struck a partnership deal with Ice Spice. The Queen rapper launched her new label, which is called Heavy On It, earlier this year. During a recent episode of Queen Radio on AMP, she announced that she’ll be working closely with Ice Spice. “​​Heavy On It is the label, and I’m proud to announce my partnership with the one and only Ice Spice,” Nicki said.

Ultimately, Ice Spice can check something off of her bucket list. In an interview with Erykah Badu and her daughter Puma, the “Munch” rapper revealed that Nicki Minaj was her dream collab. Though she stated that she felt Nicki would’ve been a great addition to the “Munch (Remix),” the two definitely served up heat with the release of “Princess Diana (Remix).” Check out the extendo clip above. Did Nicki Minaj slide on the remix? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Did Ice Spice Sign To Nicki Minaj’s New Label, ‘Heavy On It?’

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ice spice pink
Getty Image

Record label stuff can be confusing for music fans. In addition to the complex web of company organization charts and subsidiaries (Uproxx, for instance, is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group, which also contains Warner Records, Atlantic Records, 300 Entertainment, and more), artists themselves make things even more confusing thanks to their naming labels after rap crews and street families, trading chains amongst themselves, and generally making it seem like everybody is signed to everybody else.

Case in point: rap fans have been speculating that buzzing Bronx rapper Ice Spice has signed to Nicki Minaj‘s new label after the two collaborated on the remix of the former’s “Princess Diana” this week. On DSPs, the distributor for the track is listed as 10K Projects (Ice Spice’s label, which is also home to Trippie Redd, Aitch, Jeleel, and Iann Dior) and Heavy On It, which is the name of Nicki’s new endeavor, further feeding the speculation online.

However, it seems unlikely that Ice Spice would end her current record deal — which comes with the backing of Virgin Music Group, a subsidiary of Universal — less than a year after signing it. Nor would it make good business sense to further dilute her shares of her own music by adding another name to the pot — although other artists have had multiple concurrent deals, usually they had them before signing to one with major backing.

So, no, Ice Spice probably isn’t signed to Heavy On It. Nicki’s new label’s name was only added to the track to ensure she gets her share of profits from the streams/sales thereof, not to suggest a new affiliation for the new “rap princess.”

The “Princess Diana” remix is out now via 10K Projects and Heavy On It.