Nicki Minaj seems to be throwing her support behind Sabrina Carpenter in the race for No. 1 on the Billboard 200, backing the singer’s Short n’ Sweet over Travis Scott’s DAYS BEFORE RODEO.
On Thursday (Aug. 29), Carpenter tweeted, “this one’s for Nicki,” with many fans speculating that her comment was more than just a coincidental shoutout. Her new album dropped the same day as Scott’s re-release of his 2014 mixtape, ultimately putting them in direct competition for the top spot on the charts.
Minaj quickly acknowledged the “Taste” hitmaker’s support during an Instagram Live session that same night. “Shout out to Sabrina Carpenter. Shout out to all the Sabrina Carpenter fans,” she said.
Back in 2018, Scott’s ASTROWORLD famously blocked Minaj’s Queen from reaching No. 1. In response, she accused the Houston native of manipulating sales and leveraging his then-relationship with Kylie Jenner against her.
“I put my blood, sweat, and tears [into] writing a dope album only for Travis Scott to have Kylie Jenner post a tour pass telling [people] to come see her and Stormi,” Minaj said via Twitter. “I’m actually laughing. Queen broke the record of being No. 1 in 86 countries. Thank Jesus, and thank you to my fans.”
In another tweet, she wrote, “Spotify had to teach me a lesson but rewarded the man who has had an Apple Radio show [for] the longest, inadvertently helping the Apple platform the most.” In a different tweet she continued, “My label didn’t want to defend me [out of] fear of Spotify trying to teach Ariana [Grande] a ‘lesson’ too.”
In April, Minaj and Scott joined forces for her “FTCU (SLEEZEMIX),” which also featured Chris Brown and Sexyy Red.
The Cactus Jack Records founder’s DAYS BEFORE RODEO arrived on streaming services in celebration of its 10th anniversary on Aug. 23. On Thursday, he dropped five fresh takes: three deluxe editions, a chopped and screwed version and one packed with live performances from his Atlanta show.