Nicki Minaj still has no manager, despite early reports claiming that she’d already signed with someone. Early reports from gossip sites such as The Grape Juice suggested the Pinkprint rapper had signed with Mariah Carey’s management company Range Media, more specifically with Melissa Rudderman, though those rumors have been debunked.
Rudderman confirmed that Nicki Minaj is still a free agent, but didn’t deny Range Media — which also manages Cordae, Wale, Jack Harlow and others — was in the mix. “I have not partnered with Nicki Minaj,” she said in a statement obtained by Variety. “Nicki is currently in discussions with management companies and has not yet partnered with anyone,” a label representative added in their own statement.
Nicki Minaj had previously confirmed in 2022 that she was no longer managed by Irving Azoff’s Full Stop Management and said she had joined SalXCo, which handles The Weeknd, French Montana, Ty Dolla $ign, Doja Cat and others. Being on the hunt for new management didn’t stop Nicki from having a killer 2022. In December, she put down some roots in Los Angeles and purchased a lavish new home with her husband and son to ring in the new year. The 12,000-square-foot, 8-bedroom estate in the Hidden Hills reportedly cost around $19.5 million and includes a detached guesthouse, cabana, saltwater pool, and a Baja shelf.
The new mansion served as a late birthday gift for Nicki, who celebrated her 40th year of life on December 8. On the music side of things, Nicki has had just as much reason to celebrate. She’s reportedly working on her forthcoming fifth album, and told City Girls rapper JT that her next project will go back to her roots as a hungry, underground MC on the rise. She added she’s in a great place to allow for her creativity to shine.
“I feel like whenever I’m happy, I deliver the best music,” Nicki said before hinting at which is perfect timing for her to release new material. Minaj’s last solo release was 2018’s Queen, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units, of which 78,000 came from pure album sales.
Nicki also told JT that she wants to see her younger counterparts step up their lyrical game. “I wanna hear girls rap again. Like, just rap. When I did my BET Cypher years ago, I purposely didn’t wear revealing clothes,” Nicki said. “I wore a sweatsuit. So even though we were being super freaky girls on the song, and we all had fun, y’all really spit.”
