Def Jam has a history of hits and artists who are iconic, but they did not see that in Nicki Minaj when the female rapper was looking for a label.
Ransom joined the Rap Radar podcast this week, during which he recalled suggesting to Def Jam that they should sign Nicki Minaj. The music company did not listen to request and the rest is history as Minaj went on to be apart of the iconic Young Money records in 2009.
“We went to Def Jam, like, ‘Yo, you should probably sign her, too.’ She probably don’t know that,” he began. “I ain’t gonna tell you the person even we talked to. You guys know him. He was like, ‘Nah, that shit will never work.’
“I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’ Nah, I see him to this day I be like, ‘Wow!’ I looked at him like, ‘Alright.’”
Ransom continued his rant against executives that really have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to evaluating talent, and he had a message for aspiring A&Rs.
“There’s a lot of people in this industry that has no idea what the fuck they doing,” he claimed. “If you know what you doing and you stick around long enough, you’ll make a name for yourself.”
Nicki Minaj once referenced being shunned by Def Jam as the label allegedly told her she’s “no Lauryn Hill” on Beam Me Up Scotty‘s “Can Anybody Hear Me?” in 2009.
“Def Jam said I’m no Lauryn Hill/ Can’t rap and sing on the same CD/ The public won’t get it, they got A.D.D,” she raps.
