Nicki Minaj has slammed Steve Stoute after he claimed Nicki was not paid by Tidal because she did not sign the paperwork.

Nicki criticizes Steve Stoute for his reaction to Tidal not paying her

On Friday (20 September) The pivotal point Podcast featured his video interview with music executive Steve Stoute, who had some kind words for Nicki Minaj after she publicly denounced Jay-Z for abiding by the Tidal agreement. The Queen Barbz was among a host of artists who helped launch the streaming platform in March 2015. On September 11, Nicki claimed she didn’t get a cent from Tidal after Hov sold it for $300 million.

To The pivotal point In a podcast, which can be seen below, Stoute was upset with rappers who attacked Jay-Z over his decision to have Kendrick Lamar headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans instead of Lil Wayne. The United Masters founder disagreed with Nicki’s comments and spoke about why she wasn’t paid for her Tidal deal.

“I think in this case, what Nicki did was wrong,” he began at 1:14 in the video below. “To address Tidal, his streaming company that he gave you shares in, that you didn’t sign the damn papers and that’s the reason you left millions of dollars on the table, that man (Jay-Z) did nothing to you.”

“This crab in a barrel thing… we can’t do that. That’s black-on-black crime,” he added. “I don’t like that. I think Nikki is a great, great, great artist. Very successful career. That shouldn’t be done. So let’s not do that, let’s do it privately.”

Nicki got wind of Steve Stoute’s comments about The pivotal point and dragged it to X, formerly Twitter.

“I received a call telling me that Tidal was being sold and they weren’t making any money on the deal so they could only offer me a million dollars. But wait, there’s more!” Nicki wrote in a post seen below. “The lawyer informed me that Desirat told him that IF I WANTED THE $1 million I HAD to sign the agreement within 24 hours or the ‘offer’ was off the table. Listen to the end of ‘Fractions’ to hear my response.”

“Every day a new man who is almost 60 years old is groped in public and then forced to come on the internet and lie to me. God is in control. Bookmark it. I advise you never to mention my name again,” she continued. “So Barbz, thank you for supporting something I was involved in. I love you. But I was scammed and offered a million dollars to keep me quiet. I refused. The grace of God is sufficient. I didn’t need your hush money.”

In another post, Nicki apparently alluded to Stoute’s attempt to use her name to distract from Diddy’s recent arrest for alleged sex crimes.

“They need to keep the conversation limited to me so no one asks about these allegations against their best friend. I mean, it seems the 30 year old tea is far from stale here. Muster. And yet. SAS, UGLY ALIEN, STOUT, Sch**tatem etc. are all talking about Onika? Why are they talking about Oniqua?!?!?!” she wrote.

Read more: Rappers disagree with Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Super Bowl

Jay-Z chooses halftime show performer, according to Super Bowl producers

In a recent interview with diversitySuper Bowl producer Jesse Collins has revealed that Jay-Z is the one who chooses who performs at the Super Bowl halftime show. As previously reported, K-Dot was chosen to perform at the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, much to the chagrin of rappers and fans who had hoped to see Weezy rock on the mic in his hometown.

“It’s a decision that Jay makes,” Collins said. “He’s done it every year since we’ve been on this show and it’s been great. He’s always made the right choice!”

Coincidentally, during his interview with The pivotal pointSteve Stoute confirmed that Drake turned down the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl—twice! Watch the video below.

Read more: Nicki Minaj insults Stephen Smith for criticizing Jay-Z comments

Watch Steve Stoute’s interview with The pivotal point and Nicki Minaj’s responses to Stoute’s comment below.

Watch Steve Stoute talk about performing at Super Bowl halftime, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and more on The pivotal point Podcast

Read Nicki Minaj’s heated response to Steve Stoute

Here you can find an overview of all rap disputes in 2024