by Venus Sanders & Lisa K. Stephenson
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
It seems that behind the scenes, there’s been trouble brewing between Roc Nation and YMCB, whether it’s Nicki Minaj taking shots at Beyoncé or Megan Thee Stallion, or Kendrick Lamar single-handedly owning the summer with his smash hit record, a diss against Drake, titled ‘Not Like Us’.
It was all good not too long ago, so many fans are wondering where things went wrong, and now, it seems to have finally escalated between the two groups. Roc Nation, owned and operated by Jay-Z, is known for managing artists such as J. Cole and Megan Thee Stallion through his management company. If we recall, J. Cole entered the rap beef with Drake earlier this year before respectfully bowing out, leaving Kendrick on the battlefield alone, which he devoured.
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Nicki Minaj, on her song ‘Press Play’ from the ‘Pink Friday 2: Gag City Pluto Edition’ version of her album, says, “Daddy wasn’t no businessman, mama wasn’t no business owner,” in direct response to fans comparing her to Beyoncé. Many fans believe Minaj is vocal about the issues she faces behind the curtains—whether it’s labels trying to sabotage her tour or watching to see when she releases the deluxe version of her album so as not to be in direct competition with Cardi B.
If you recall from one of our earlier articles, a rep from Atlantic confirmed to our music editor, Diamond Brown, that the label is afraid that if Cardi drops her album, the Barbz will purposely look to sabotage it, either by streaming Nicki’s most recent album or this new one (the deluxe), now that the Queen herself has confirmed it’s on the way.
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Arriving in our inbox yesterday was the official announcement of Kendrick Lamar headlining the Super Bowl 2025 halftime show. Since the announcement, fans, artists, and more have been voicing their grievances; however, the outrage is split. Some say he deserves it because he’s had the most successful year for any artist in 2024, while others believe that since Lil Wayne is from New Orleans, the opportunity should have been given to him. Some fans vehemently disagree, calling out Wayne’s inability to remember lyrics, his lackluster performances, and the fact that he hasn’t released any new successful music—so why would he be selected?
In 2019, Jay-Z and the NFL announced a five-year partnership with Jay-Z and Roc Nation that included producing Super Bowl halftime shows and spearheading social justice initiatives. Since then, we have seen performances from Shakira and Jennifer Lopez (2020), The Weeknd (2021), Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg (2022), Rihanna (2023), and Usher (2024).
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What do all of these artists have in common? They are, for the most part, minority acts, with the exception of Eminem. Prior to this, however, from 2014 to 2019, most of the acts were from non-minority groups. Not only that, but each year that artists are selected to perform at the Super Bowl, it’s usually because they’ve had a streak of success in other endeavors, making them ideal candidates. This isn’t a favoritism game; it’s a numbers and popularity game.
Nicki Minaj took to Twitter today to say, “Denying a young Black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason than your ego. Your hatred for Birdman, Drake, and Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne! The GOAT!...” She goes on to say, “…God forbid if Wayne was to leave this earth right now, the culture would be in mourning. That’s why so many people keep saying to give our legends their flowers while they are still around to smell them. Sitting around all day playing with people’s lives and legacy. God ain’t sleep. Gee Roberson, you will learn that, too. Very soon.”
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Gee Roberson is the former manager of both Kanye West and Drake. In addition, he is the founder and CEO of BPG Music, which inked a partnership with Warner Records, announced in February 2021. If you recall earlier, our music editor did a piece discussing the relationship between Warner Music, Atlantic, and Roc Nation.
It seems that YMCB is on the outskirts when it comes to major decisions and moves around the music industry, which would explain why Nicki Minaj is so outspoken about the mistreatment and essentially being labeled a pariah. Furthermore, Kendrick Lamar’s diss record against a YMCB member seems to be a direct hit at the group. Buckle up, folks—it looks like we’re in for a long ride.