Last summer, the rapper-singer accused mega-manager Irving Azoff of sabotaging her tour.
Is Nicki Minaj joining the roster of Irving Azoff’s Full Stop Management? Sources tell Variety the singer and rapper is “in talks” with the firm, after parting ways with Gee Roberson and Cortez Bryant and Blueprint/ Maverick Management, who had represented her for the majority of her career.
Full Stop, which houses managers Jeffrey Azoff, Brandon Creed and Andy Mendelsohn, among others, handles a wide range of artists including Travis Scott, the Eagles, Gwen Stefani, John Mayer, Sara Bareilles and Bon Jovi. The move is interesting because Minaj criticized the elder Azoff bitterly last summer in the wake of her “Queen” tour’s postponement, dubbing him the “c—sucker of the day” on her Apple Music Beats 1 radio show and accusing him of launching a “smear campaign about my tour, and contacted people in the media to spread negative things about my tour.” The tour ultimately proceeded, with some bumps and lineup changes, in Europe, although the U.S. leg was rescheduled with her as the special guest on Chris Brown’s forthcoming North American tour in the late summer.
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Still, Full Stop is a strong suitor. It could be argued that Minaj, who is 36 and has been a widely recognized recording artist and celebrity for more than a decade, could reap the benefits of Scott’s mainstream hip-hop following, as well as the later-in-career moves that the management team has brought to Stefani, such as a Las Vegas residency and television appearances — although Minaj did serve a controversial stint on “American Idol” in 2013, where she feuded with fellow judge and diva Mariah Carey.
Azoff declined comment at the time, but this would not be the first time in his 50-year career that he buried the hatchet with an artist with whom he’d previously feuded. And as one insider suggests, Minaj may have been “impressed with [his] baller move.” Another source says the talks have been upbeat and “fun.”
A rep for Minaj did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.