These days, Nicki Minaj is the topic of conversation, and rightfully so. With the success of her fifth studio album, “Pink Friday 2,” Minaj has taken back her throne. Nicki Minaj’s December 2023 interview with Joe Budden showcased all aspects of the femcee’s animated personality. As the two artists talked, nothing was taboo. Minaj opened up about the tragic death of her father, motherhood, and her forthcoming documentary.
Throughout the press tour for her album, Minaj’s chat with Budden had been the most anticipated, marking their first interview in over a year. Despite bumping heads in the past, the rappers have maintained a friendship and have never been afraid of candid conversations.
Joe Budden shared a teaser for the Nicki Minaj interview.
Once Budden teased the interview in a Dec. 22, 2023, Instagram post, the Barbz and rap fans were excited. The post featured a photo of Budden and the “Do We Have A Problem” hitmaker with the caption, “Soon…” The caption didn’t specify what was happening, but that didn’t stop fans from obsessing about the announcement.
Once Budden released the interview, hysteria erupted on social media. Here are some of the most notable takeaways from Minaj’s interview.
1. Minaj’s father’s tragic death shocked her.
Minaj discussed the tragic death of her father, Robert Maraj. In February 2021, Minaj’s father was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Mineola, New York. The “Pink Friday 2” rapper talked to her father hours before the incident, as he was planning to visit her and her newborn son.
“Losing my father was something I really wanted to make sure that people understood,” Minaj said. “We really needed help. I saw my father calling my phone. Normally, I wasn’t picking up my phone around the baby because he was so small.”
“It just so happens that I had the phone, and I looked down. I saw it was my father, and I picked up. He was like, ‘Baby, book me my ticket for Monday. I said, ‘OK,'” the femcee recalled. “I was so happy we were about to get some help because we hadn’t been sleeping.”
That was the last conversation Minaj had with her father. She recalled being excited that he was coming to visit. Later that night, the rapper remembered having a dream about receiving a call that her mother was in an accident. She indeed got that same call, but it involved her father.
“In real life, I got that call, but it was about my father, and it was my mother telling me that,” Minaj revealed. “She said she would let me know and call me back.”
2. Minaj’s father never got to meet her son in person.
For the “Everybody” rapper, it’s hard to grasp that her son and father never met in person. Minaj told Budden she hadn’t figured out the answer in years.
“He didn’t get to meet my son,” the rapper revealed. “I don’t understand that. With everything in life, I just try to figure out why. It has been the only thing in years that has just been like, why? I had to explain that because I don’t think people understood the gravity of what was happening.”
Minaj continued: “It wasn’t that you just lost a parent because a lot of people have lost parents. It was everything surrounding it. It was getting a phone call and hearing somebody super happy to be flying out in a couple of days and never seeing them again.”
The “FTCU” rapper’s revelation brought a somber mood to the interview. She stated how helpful her father would’ve been to them by cooking and caring for the family.
3. Minaj explained her Tory Lanez bar on “FTCU.”
During the conversation, Minaj slightly addressed a controversial bar that mentioned Tory Lanez. “Stay in your Tory Lane, b—h, I’m not Iggy,” Minaj rapped on the hit single “FTCU.”
Listeners saw this as a dig at Megan Thee Stallion. After all, Megan was shot by Lanez in July 2020, who was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years behind bars in 2023. As fans know, Nicki and Megan had a previous friendship before falling out. They even collaborated on the hit single “Hot Girl Summer” after bonding through IG Live.
Budden wasted no time sharing his opinions and questioning Minaj about what she meant.
“This could be a quadruple entendre,” Budden said. “I could think of 10 different things that that might mean. What does it mean?”
Minaj countered by asking, “What does it mean to you?”
Budden said, “It could be shade towards a few people.”
The “Barbie Dreams” rapper asked Budden, “Well, without thinking about it being shade to a few people, what do you think the line itself means?”
The podcast host stated, “‘I’m not one of them, and I think it was a clever way to say that.'”
Minaj smiled, nodded in agreement, and thanked Budden for the compliment.
4. Minaj’s documentary will be out in a few months.
Fans believed Minaj would release her highly anticipated documentary along with “Pinky Friday 2,” but the rapper decided to delay the project. She wants the Barbz and the world to digest the album first.
Minaj explained that the documentary was delayed due to timing constraints and would not be available for a few more months. Since the announcement, fans have speculated that the documentary may be released in March 2024 to kick off Minaj’s forthcoming international tour.
5. Nicki Minaj believes J. Cole outdid her on “Let Me Calm Down.”
When it comes to featured artists outshining Minaj on her projects, she isn’t worried. During the interview, Budden mentioned one artist who never holds back on a feature — J. Cole.
Cole hopped on Minaj’s “Let Me Calm Down.” In true Cole fashion, the North Carolina native made the song his own. Budden, however, believes that Nicki came out on top.
“He’s been tearing [n-word] up, but he didn’t tear you up,” says Budden.
Minaj adamantly replied, “Yes, he did.”
The rapper admired that Cole gave it his all and said she expects that standard from featured artists on her projects.
“I want the person to be the best.” Minaj shared. “I want the person to give me their best verse. That made me know he respected me and cared about my project.”
6. The Trinidadian native is elated to have earned an American Vogue cover.
During Minaj’s 2022 interview with Budden, she spoke about being the most successful female rapper and still not having an American Vogue cover. This time around, things have come full circle. Not only is Minaj being interviewed by Budden again, but the femcee finally has an American Vogue cover under her belt.
“Last time I saw you, it was a big thing that Vogue hadn’t featured you,” said Budden.
Minaj gushed, saying that the call was a complete surprise, and recalled being enamored by the full experience.
“The shoot itself was just great vibes,” the 41-year-old shared. “I love the actual cover, but most of all, Anna Wintour and American Vogue asked me to have my son on my first Vogue cover. I’m so happy about that.”
The icon added: “To me, it just puts a different trajectory on the careers of female rappers. I think that they’re taught that your career should be going down when you’ve been in the game for this amount of time. Nobody knows how this one plays out because they’ve never seen it.”
Sit-downs between Budden and Minaj are always one for the books, and this interview was no exception. The natural chemistry between the two rappers made for an entertaining conversation and further proved what we already knew — Nicki Minaj is the queen!
Click the link below to watch the full interview!
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