On March 3 during an episode of her Queen Radio show on Amazon’s radio app Amp, Nicki Minaj announced that she is launching her own record label.
Videos by American Songwriter
“There’s a big announcement coming…Well, I have a record label now,” she said. “I believe so strongly in loyalty, and because I’ve spent my whole life giving to others that turn around and shit on me.”
Currently, the label does not have a name. However, Minaj has assigned an A&R for the label and has already signed a handful of artists. The A&R will be Minaj’s longtime friend, Patty Duke, and their current roster of artists includes Ghanaian Afro-Soul artist Nana Fofie, Baltimore rapper Tate Kobang, and New York rappers Rico Danna and London Hill.
When talking about what motivated her to start her own imprint, Minaj pointed to two specific influences. First, she spoke on Republic Records co-president, Wendy Goldstein, as she is currently signed to Republic and they are likely helping to facilitate her new label.
“I said, ‘Wendy, we got to do this big. I’m a female, you a female, mama. You got to do this right. We gotta do it right. I don’t want no little itty-bitty ting ting. I want to do it right,’” she said.
Next, she mentioned her mentor from early in her career, Lil Wayne, saying how important it was for her to have someone with a strong presence in the industry believe in her.
“When I came in this game, I didn’t have no paperwork with Lil Wayne,” she said. “But he had us on tour, he had us in a studio, he was getting on my mixtapes. I understand the importance of having somebody else doing the heavy lifting for you.”
Later in the episode, Minaj spoke specifically about one of her artists, Tate Kobang, praising his talent as a songwriter. “Tate is one of the very best hook writers of the new generation,” she said. “I almost didn’t want to tell people that I was affiliated with him because I don’t want that to affect his business. But he’s an artist, and that’s him on that hook. He wrote that hook.”
The hook she refers to specifically is from her latest promotional single, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” which arrived on the same day as the Queen Radio episode. Potentially gearing up for a new album, it seems that Minaj has a lot of exciting endeavors on her plate.
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage
