Nicki Minaj On Moving Forward Without Lil Wayne, "It's Like A Life Lesson For All Of Us"

Young Money's Nicki Minaj recently talked about what life on the road has been like since her label boss, Lil Wayne, has begun serving a one-year jail sentence on a gun charge.

According to Nicki, it was Wayne's persistence and work ethic that has motivated her to move forward as he continues his sentence.

"We remember last year being at MTV Spring Break, and Wayne was obviously the headliner," she recalled in an interview. "He's so much more than a headliner, he's a person that I look at, and I can't believe this guy is still going, after 20 to 30 minutes in the hot sun. To not have him here, it's like a life lesson for all of us -- always work as if we have no one else to depend on -- and that's what he teaches us. He did, like, 1,000 videos before he went in, knowing that he had to go to jail. A lot of us wouldn't do that. A lot of us would be curled up on a ball like, 'Oh my God, my life is about to be over.' So shout-out to Lil Wayne. We're honored that he chose each and every one of us, handpicked us. And we love him."
The rapper's current incarceration has not slowed his camp's debut group album which remained on the sales charts this week.

Young Money's We Are Young Money compilation moved up four slots to No. 31 with 15,600. After 13 weeks, the crew's debut project has sold 391,300 copies.

Also, in Wayne's absence, Young Money has inked associate Lil Twist to an official label deal.

Drake and Nicki Minaj aren't the only ones in Young Money creating industry buzz. Now teen rapper Lil Twist, who has long been associated with Young Money has officially signed his deal with rapper Lil Wayne's label Young Money Entertainment. Lil Twist has officially inked his contract with Universal/Young Money, with a rumored 1.3 million dollar signing bonus. Twist's debut album is set for release late this summer. His official single "Love Affair" is gaining lots of attention from the fans and he is shooting a video for that in the upcoming week.

Since beginning his sentence earlier this month, Wayne has already experienced restrictions while behind bars.

A rep for the Correction Officer's Benevolent Association tells us officials issued the no autograph mandate because "Lil Wayne is not a celebrity in here." The rep also tells us Wayne isn't getting any special treatment while at Rikers -- but we're told the rapper really hasn't requested anything out of the ordinary.