Nicki Minaj recently sparked a whole lot of fan speculation with some recent moves that some Barbz interpreted as shade towards Ice Spice. For those unaware, the former unfollowed the latter on Instagram and then told fans to stop asking questions about "other people" amid this drama. As such, many put two and two together, but this equation doesn't really confirm whether or not there are real issues at play here. Nevertheless, DJ Akademiks recently responded to this during his livestream, defending the Trinidadian MC for her choices and for the way in which she's conducting business with these artists.
Of course, Ak's main point of defense for Nicki Minaj's treatment of Ice Spice was to compare her to her Young Money partner and his fav, Drake. He said that Drizzy rubs a lot of artists the wrong way for taking control of publishing and masters, but the media personality justified this through the notion of the "Drake stimulus package." He's already defended this model to death before, so it's no surprise that he understands why Nicki is moving in the way she's moving. To be clear, this approach from a massive artist to a relatively smaller one isn't necessarily an automatic point of condemnation, as any sort of deal in the music industry can turn sour if executed irresponsibly.
DJ Akademiks Speaks On Nicki Minaj's Label Comments Seemingly Aimed At Ice Spice
Here's what Nicki Minaj had to say about rappers signing to white labels instead of her Heavy On It imprint, which many saw as an Ice Spice dig. "Motherf***er tell somebody they don't want to sign with Heavy On It," she expressed. "But then they'll go and sign with the white peoples. And guess who the white peoples finna call? Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty. They always get the attention of the Barbz. If your name is not on [the new version of] Pink Friday 2, they're not a Heavy On It artist."
Meanwhile, this is what Ice Spice had to say about Nicki Minaj recently. "We don’t have the closest relationship, you know? But we’re definitely good,” she posited. “We’re mutuals. We had smash records together. I love us together. I think the world does too."