Nicki Minaj had a big weekend. Not only did she perform at the TIDAL X: 1015 charity show, but she also met her hero Lauryn Hill and twerked on stage to Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen.”
After that eye-popping performance, Onika phoned “The Breakfast Club” to talk about all of the above, but also to open up about her postponed television show, female rap, and the twerking skills of her ex Safaree Samuels.
While fans may want a sequel to her 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty, Nicki wouldn’t reveal her album plans just yet. However, she did confirm that she has collaborated with Fetty Wap, who she brought out at the TIDAL concert.
“I love Fetty,” said Nicki. “I did something with Fetty that’s gonna come out soon that I think is super dope.”
Watch the full Q&A and see highlights from the conversation below.
On meeting Lauryn Hill: “Such a surreal moment. I couldn’t control myself. I was at a loss for words. She was super sweet and gracious. I was not expecting that.”
On new work in New York: “I have so many things that I’m working on that are really exciting. I’m happy about that. I’ve been in New York for awhile. New York gives such a different energy and I’m happy to be home.”
On her Freeform TV show: “It’s postponed because a lot of things were happening at the same time. Creatively, we wanted to make some changes with the pilot. We’re taking our time.”
On female rap: “I got a thing for Young M.A. I definitely have a thing for her. Something about her I really love. I’ve met DeJ Loaf. I think she’s dope too.”
On hip-hop today: “We’re in the era of mumble rap and it’s men and some of it is super dope and some of it is like, ‘Let’s see where this goes.’ But it’s always difficult becoming a staple in hip-hop…Shoutout to all the women coming up that are paying attention to lyrics…I love Lil Uzi. I love the melodies. I love Fetty. I did something with Fetty that’s gonna come out soon that I think is super dope.”
On Beam Me Up Scotty 2: “[Fans] have been trying to talk me into that for a long time. The other day I was listening to Beam Me Up Scotty on TIDAL, not to plug anything, but I listened to that mixtape on TIDAL…I was like, ‘This is pretty dope.’ When artists are in their mixtape season, they don’t give themselves rules…I think during that time, I just did what I wanted to do…I’m not closed off to it but I definitely won’t tell anyone if I’m doing that…I would just surprise my fans with it.”
On whether Safaree twerks better: “You have to compare my twerk video on my Instagram. That’s the one that’s epic. He can’t do better than that. Now the one at TIDAL? Yes. Get him some…I could tell y’all some stories, but I ain’t.”
On Jay Z & Beyoncé: “Before I left the building, Jay said, ‘I never seen her like this. Whatever she on, she need to stay on that.’ That’s a big deal coming from my rap idol and then we had dinner and both of them were super proud and I was proud to have them feel like that. And Swizz. He was like, ‘What energy did you pull from for the show?’ I maybe took a couple sips of something backstage before I came out but that was about it. They complimented the show. Bey complimented even my background singer Keisha, who I love.”