Nicki Minaj has continued to air her grievances with JAY-Z, claiming she has never received any money from his former streaming platform.
The Young Money rapper was one of several big-name musicians who helped Hov launch the streaming platform at a star-studded press conference nine years ago alongside the likes of Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyoncé, J. Cole and Usher.
The 16-strong group were introduced as co-owners of the company, with each artist reportedly receiving three percent in equity in exchange for providing exclusive content to TIDAL that would help increase subscriber numbers.
JAY-Z later sold his majority stake in the company to Jack Dorsey’s Square, Inc. (now Block, Inc.) for a reported $302 million.
According to Nicki, however, she has yet to see a dime from her partnership with TIDAL.
In response to a fan comment on Akademiks‘ TikTok page claiming that each artist stakeholder “got paid” from the deal, she wrote: “I didn’t even get one red penny when no one promoted it more than me outside of Beyoncé. lol chi.”
It was reported by The Guardian at the time of the sale that “TIDAL’s superstar co-owners […] will retain their stakes and become the second largest shareholders.”
However, conflicting reports claimed that each artist received almost $9 million from the deal, despite not selling their stakes.
In any case, Nicki Minaj has made no secret of her disdain for JAY-Z in recent days. In an explosive social media rant earlier this week, she subliminally accused the rap mogul of denying Lil Wayne next year’s Super Bowl halftime show in his hometown of New Orleans over personal grievances.
“Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego. Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!! LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!!” she wrote on X.
She added in a separate post: “Got everything in the world. Still spiteful & evil. Disgusting. Be happy Abeg. Go be fkng happy n!gg@!!!!!!!! In rap business. In women business. When you got the Politicians & the police you good tho. Plus dat ugly laughy taffy alien.”
Her tirade came after it was announced that Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on February 9, which JAY-Z and Roc Nation are helping to organize.
Nicki later clarified that she meant no disrespect towards Kendrick, writing: “You can love & respect Kendrick and still love & respect Wayne. Even Kendrick loves & respects Wayne. Every real rapper loves & respects Wayne.”
