Nicki Minaj has accused Jay-Z of owing her between $100 million and $200 million following the sale of TIDAL, the streaming service he co-founded in 2015.
Minaj was among a small group of artists given equity in the company in return for exclusive content and promotional support. In a post on X this week, she claimed she was only offered $1 million after Jay-Z sold a majority stake in TIDAL to Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Square (now known as Block) in 2021 for $302 million.
“We’ve calculated about 100-200MM so far. #JayZ call me to settle this karmic debt. It’s only collecting more interest,” Minaj wrote on Tuesday (9 July).
Despite the allegation, she added, “You still in my TOP 5 tho,” before warning, “Anyone still calling him Hov will answer to God for the blasphemy.”
Minaj said she intends to use the money she believes she’s owed to fund her student support initiative, Student of the Game, which helps fans (aka Barbz) cover tuition fees and pay off student loans.
“I’m going to use some of the money #JayZ owes me to send some of my Barbz to college,” she added, “via my #StudentOfTheGame charity.”
The TIDAL equity fallout
When TIDAL launched in March 2015, it was pitched as an artist-owned alternative to Spotify and Apple Music. Sixteen major artists were publicly listed as co-owners at launch, including Beyoncé, Kanye West, Rihanna, Madonna, Daft Punk and Minaj. Each reportedly received 3% equity in exchange for content exclusives and promotional rights. Source: Billboard
In March 2021, Jay-Z sold 80% of TIDAL to Square Inc. for $302 million. Minaj now claims the terms of her original agreement were not honoured.
Square’s press release at the time emphasised its intention to “empower artists to support their work,” and Jay-Z joined Square’s board of directors as part of the deal.
Jay-Z has not responded publicly to Minaj’s comments.
