Ice Spice is not falling victim to a major issue new artists tend to run into at the start of their career – as her manager recently revealed the People’s Princess owns the rights to all of her music.
Gracing the May 11 cover of Billboard, The Bronx native and her manager spoke on her business acumen and her rise to fame since “Munch (Feelin’ U) dropped in August 2022.
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Being managed by James Rosemond Jr. – son of famed Hip Hop mogul James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond who managed The Game, Gucci Mane and more – put Ice Spice in a great position from the start.
“I was privy to a lot of his deal-making, and me being a sponge allowed me to soak up what contracts looked like and how to approach labels,” Rosemond Jr. said. “[Before labels even approached Ice, I told her] ‘Let’s do it ourselves first.’ Deals came to her — production deals, 360 deals — but they were deals that I knew could be better, and in order to get a better deal, you have to go out and do it yourself.”
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He then hired a powerhouse entertainment lawyer to help navigate the bidding war that soon emerged, which set the tone for negotiations at a dinner meeting with 10K Records and Capitol Records shortly after the release of “Munch.”
“We wasn’t freestyling it. We had that vision walking in,” Rosemond Jr. said.
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In the end, the joint deal they struck allowed Ice Spice to own both her masters and publishing – as well as creative freedom.
“No one on the label side touches the music,” said 10K co-president Zach Friedman. “There is no traditional A&R with her. No one’s picking beats, no one’s saying, ‘Do this, do that.’ It’s all her. We’re on her schedule.”
Ice Spice hasn’t stopped pumping out hits since her debut last summer, and her latest record – the Nicki Minaj-assisted “Princess Diana (Remix)” – recently outsold the entire Top 25 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart combined.
According to Billboard, since the release of “Princess Diana” on April 14, it was downloaded 77,000 times in just two weeks – which is the best sales week for any rap title since Minaj dropped “Super Freaky Girl” in 2022. The single has also allowed Ice Spice to nab her first No. 1 Hot Rap Song after appearing on the charts four previous times.
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In addition, “Princess Diana” has the eighth spot in chart history featuring at least two solo women, which dates back to 1989 (including rappers and singers).
