Remember last year when there were rumors that Bigfoot in Bot Nation allegedly threatened MTV over Nicki Minaj’s performance of “Red Ruby the Sleeves”? Well, fast forward to this year, and guess who’s hosting the VMAs? It’s the same person who couldn’t even sell out arenas on their first tour—the one who turned the Democratic Party into a viral joke by twerking on the Vice President’s stage. And now, you’re tight with Jay-Z, getting advice from both him and Beyoncé. So, who’s better at dishing out advice—Beyoncé or Jay-Z? Or is that something you’d rather keep to yourself?
I’d say Jay-Z probably gives the more fun advice. Wait, fun advice? Here’s the tea: Nicki Minaj is reportedly livid because there’s talk that Jay-Z and Beyoncé might have pulled some strings to replace her with Megan Thee Stallion as this year’s VMAs host. But that’s not even the wildest part. Nicki just got slapped with a bizarre $5 million lawsuit from a fan who’s, let’s say, not all there, and apparently, this fan has some ties to Roc Nation. Now, fans are buzzing with theories that Jay-Z might be out to sabotage Nicki’s career.
Sure, Nicki hasn’t always made the best choices, and she could definitely handle industry drama a bit better. But let’s not forget, she’s not the first one to call out Jay-Z and Roc Nation for allegedly playing dirty. Back in 2016, Kanye West publicly accused Jay-Z and Beyoncé of using blackmail to snag Grammys, and he even hinted that Jay might send someone after him.
“Chasc, give me a call. You still haven’t gotten back to me.”
Recently, 50 Cent made a similar point, implying that Jay-Z’s Grammy success is largely thanks to his connection with Beyoncé:
“You can see that Jay-Z’s career really took off after he got with Beyoncé. He’s racked up 16 or 17 Grammys since they’ve been together, right? If you look at his career before that, the difference is clear. It’s not just them either—their kids have Grammys too, and they haven’t even started singing or rapping yet. It’s like they’re handing out trophies to secure their future.”
But that’s just the surface. Nicki Minaj went even further, naming specific people at Roc Nation, like CEO Desiree Perez, accusing them of trying to bring her down. And what’s interesting is that Desiree is allegedly a former government informant.
“As for the whole connection with government informants, that’s no secret. Do I think it’s crazy that no one talks about it? Definitely. It’s clear they’re associating with those kinds of people.”
This whole thing is way bigger than just Nicki and Megan’s beef. There’s a deeper story here, and whether you’re a fan of Nicki or not, you’ve got to respect her for calling out these powerful figures that everyone else seems to steer clear of. So, did Jay-Z and Roc Nation really maneuver things to get Nicki booted from this year’s VMAs? And could this be part of a larger, more calculated plan to take her down? Let’s break it down.
Megan Replaces Nicki
For those who might not know, Nicki Minaj hosted the VMAs in both 2022 and 2023, and during her time, the viewership numbers shot up. Everything pointed to Nicki hosting the VMAs for a third year in a row, especially since it’s happening in her hometown of Queens. But then Roc Nation allegedly stepped in and had MTV replace Nicki with Megan Thee Stallion.
Remember last year when Nicki hinted at the VMAs that certain people were making calls to MTV before her performance?
“MTV is freaking out right now because they got a few calls yesterday. People were all worried, like, ‘What if Nicki says this? What if Nicki says that?’ But I told them, ‘Don’t worry, MTV. I’ve got this under control. If you can’t control yourself, you can’t control anything around you.’ But you know who can’t control themselves? Roman, a.k.a. Red Ruby to Sne CH Le.”
But it gets juicier. Turns out, the popular industry insider page on X, “Keeping the Culture Alive,” knew this drama was coming before it even happened. They practically told us a week in advance that Megan was going to replace Nicki. On August 6th, they posted:
“VMA Debacle: Desiree Perez of Roc Nation put the pressure on MTV. She made it clear that if Nicki Minaj performed ‘Red Ruby’ at the VMAs, there’d be trouble. Remember, Nicki mentioned last year in her VMA monologue that phone calls were made about her being the show’s host. Now Desiree is pushing for Megan to host and perform in 2024 so Nicki doesn’t steal the spotlight in her hometown of Queens, where the VMAs will be this year. Beyoncé is being used as leverage. Desiree can make sure Beyoncé doesn’t show up if MTV doesn’t agree to Megan’s demands.”
It’s crazy, right? Trouble always seems to circle back to Roc Nation. And trust me, nothing I’m saying here is “alleged.”
Now, let’s talk about Desiree Perez because her story is wild.
Roc Nation’s Power Player
Remember when Megan Thee Stallion dropped her diss track “Hiss,” and fans went nuts? Nicki wasn’t about to stay quiet. She accused Roc Nation’s president, Desiree Perez, of paying off streaming services to push “Hiss” and bury Nicki’s track “Bigfoot.” Nicki clapped back, saying:
“They’re spending all this money, but she’s supposed to be the broke independent artist? Desiree, you’ve got to let it go. Everyone knows she’s trash and can’t rap. Stop [expletive] trying to make ‘fetch’ happen. I dropped a song with no promo, no video, and it’s already number two.”
So who exactly is Desiree Perez, and why does she hold so much power in the industry?
Desiree started in the music scene in the mid-90s, working as an assistant manager at a nightclub in New York. That’s when she started connecting with local artists and eventually caught the attention of Jay-Z. Fast forward to 2008 when Jay-Z launched Roc Nation, and by the next year, Desiree was onboard as the Chief Operating Officer. She became tight with Jay and Beyoncé, playing a big role in all their major projects. Then, in 2019, Jay-Z announced that Desiree was promoted to CEO of Roc Nation. Impressive, right?
But let’s rewind to 1994 when Desiree was arrested for possessing 35 kilos of cocaine and conspiracy with intent to distribute. According to court records, she was part of a drug ring that stretched from New York to Florida to Puerto Rico. A 2014 New York Daily News article states:
“In a June 11th, 1996 court hearing, federal agents praised their star informant. ‘The defendant has really worked closely with these agents,’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Bartfeld told the judge, arguing to keep Perez out of jail.”
And here’s where it gets even more interesting. Jay-Z’s former business partner, Dame Dash, later admitted that this whole Desiree situation was the first time he genuinely felt scared about what Jay was capable of:
“This was the one time that the headlines really scared me. When I read about his ties with informants and realized he was in business with certain people, I thought, ‘There has to be some truth to this.’ And it’s tough for me to even say it, but just based on where I’m from, I can’t be—I can’t have anything to do with that. And then just based on—”
Do you really believe that?”
“I’m not sure. It’s all in the paperwork, so it’s not really about belief, you know what I’m saying? The paperwork is there, and that’s what scares me. I know Biggs is in jail, and Irv Gotti has been harassed for years. They’ve been on my back for years too. So, I just need to keep my distance, you know? I’ve got love for Jay, but if I find out anything shady, I can’t mess with him, no matter what. That’s just how I was raised—no disrespect intended. It’s serious for me because one of my boys is doing 3 years for weed, and the feds are really on me too. Where I’m from, we don’t tolerate that kind of thing at all.”
Jump to 2019, and suddenly, pictures show Desiree escorting Nicki’s ex, Meek Mill, into court. He managed to get multiple charges dropped, including drug possession, gun charges, and assault. Naturally, this got people talking, wondering if Desiree still has some federal connections up her sleeve.
Considering everything we know about Desiree and her connections, you’ve got to give Nicki credit for being bold enough to call her out publicly. But just when you thought things couldn’t get more complicated, Nicki got slapped with a bizarre lawsuit on the very same day it was announced that Megan Thee Stallion would replace her as the host of this year’s VMAs.
The Suspicious Lawsuit
In the middle of all this VMAs drama, Nicki was hit with a $5 million lawsuit filed by a fan named Tamir Peak. Tamir claimed that Nicki humiliated him in front of her entire fan base, accusing him of being “one sandwich short of a picnic.” He also alleges that Nicki’s husband, Kenneth, physically attacked him at a Super Bowl party in 2020, and when he tried to bring it up with Nicki, she supposedly didn’t care at all.
But Nicki’s legal team didn’t hold back. They produced receipts showing that Tamir had been stalking Nicki for years. Tamir had reportedly attended 15 different shows on Nicki’s Pink Friday 2 Tour and would hang around outside the arena for hours, waiting for Nicki’s car to leave. Her team also revealed that Tamir had posted some pretty disturbing tweets, including one where he suggested Nicki create a private account for her son. He even called her son his nephew and talked about showing up at her house for a playdate. If that’s not stalker behavior, I don’t know what is.
What makes this even more interesting is that Nicki’s fans noticed that Roc Nation was following Tamir on Instagram, but they allegedly unfollowed him once the Barbs started making noise about it. So, people began connecting the dots and realized that maybe Nicki wasn’t just making things up when she said there was a plan to bring her down. And with everything we know about Roc Nation and Desiree Perez, you have to wonder just how deep this whole thing goes.
One fan said, “I’m not a huge fan of Nicki, Bey, or Meg, but it’s clear Nicki is being targeted. Even Stevie Wonder could see that.” Another added, “Jay-Z and Diddy have the same playbook: sign an artist, then destroy their career. Nicki’s got natural talent—you can’t buy that. Her catalog speaks for itself.”
But what do you think? Is Nicki really being targeted? Are Jay-Z and Roc Nation out to destroy her career for good? Share your thoughts in the comments below
