Ice Spice's Manager on Rapper Owning Her Masters: 'It's About Independence'

James Rosemond Jr. sat down with Billboard to discuss the ins and outs of the Bronx native’s meteoric rise from the first viral days of “Munch.”

“It was really about giving her all the right information,” Rosemond Jr. said when asked about how Spice is able to possess her masters. “Like, this is where the market is going. It’s about independence. It’s about retaining ownership; about intellectual property and generational wealth. That sometimes there are sacrifices—that people may be dangling money. But if you want a certain type of deal, you have to be patient as we do the work to have leverage.”

He continued, “That was the conversation early on. And thank God she listened and was able to hold out while we kept running up the numbers on ‘Munch.’ Then it became, ‘Let’s entertain these deals’ and, as I said earlier, begin to shape one in a creative way.”

Due to their early moves, the 24-year-old has control over her masters and publishing rights, and “still gets upfront money as if she’s a work for hire,” Rosemond Jr. explained. “It’s a hybrid type of deal that you don’t see often. And it comes with doing the work, having patience, and creating leverage.”