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Kanye West Praises Nicki Minaj In Resurfaced Clip From 2015

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Kanye West is a singular artist. No other rapper has been adamant about crediting others, then criticizing them later on. No rapper has revived so many careers, then went on derail his own. It's a fascinating, very unpredictable story. West's relationship with Nicki Minaj is a perfect encapsulation of these bizarre twists and turns. Minaj's verse on West's classic single "Monster" was a career-making turn, and West said as much during a resurfaced clip from 2015.

"One of the most memorable things about My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was Nicki Minaj," he said during a lecture. "And the fact that she kicked my a*s on my song. On one of the best albums... the best album." The latter comments drew laughter from the audience, but this is a stance West held for years. He repeatedly gave Minaj her flowers for penning the best verse on the song. The praise took on a more complicated strain in 2023, however. West and Minaj, who had seemingly been cool before then, got into an online beef over clearance issues. West wanted Minaj to clear her verse for the song "New Body," and she refused.

Kanye West Claims He Made Minaj Rewrite Her Verse

 

Kanye West responded by bringing up the "Monster" verse. "I made that girl rewrite her verse 3 times for 'Monster,'" he claimed. "I supported her career. So I don't know what it is." The rapper did not attempt to hide his frustration with Minaj, either. He posted a screenshot of their text conversation on social media for the world to see. Presumably, in the hopes of bullying Nicki Minaj into clearing her vocals. She did not bend, however. The Young Money icon stuck by her guns, and "New Body" never saw an official release.

Nicki Minaj, did, however, explain why she didn't want "New Body" cleared. She addressed the matter on Instagram Live, and chalked the controversy over the song to it being multiple years old. “Now regarding Kanye, that train has left the station," she asserted. "No disrespect in any way, I just put out a brand new album. Why would I put out a song that’s been out for three years?" The song remains a cult favorite in its unreleased form.

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MONEYBAGG YO RECALLS AMAZEMENT AT J. COLE WRITING VERSE IN RECORD TIME

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EXCLUSIVE - Moneybagg Yo has opened up about working with J. Cole and watching the Dreamville rapper write a verse in just 15 minutes.

Speaking to HipHopDX at the 2024 BET Awards in Los Angeles last weekend, Big Speaker gushed over his experience collaborating with Cole in the studio.

Revealing the length of time it took Cole to return his feature request, Moneybagg said: “J. Cole gave be eight bars ASAP. I’m talking about, like, probably in 15 minutes. We was in there, he done it ASAP. Boom, boom, boom.

“It was God because he was stopping by, he ain’t know I was at the studio, I ain’t know he was pulling up. And it kind of just happened organically. You can’t ask for those, you can’t pay for those things.”

The two hooked up on “Say Na” back in 2018, with the track featuring on Moneybagg Yo’s debut album Reset.

They also appeared together on YG‘s 2022 track “Scared Money,” which reached No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Coming in at second place behind J. Cole when it comes to songwriting speed is Lil Durk, who managed to deliver Moneybagg Yo a guest verse in just 20 minutes.

Earlier this year, the Memphis native teased a new collaboration with Smurk and said: “[Lil Durk] sent me a verse back in less than 20 [minutes] of me sending it to ’em [the] night before I had to turn my project in, and it’s one of them classic, day one Smurk verses.”

The track in question, “Gangstas Relate,” landed on Moneybagg’s latest album Speak Now, which arrived last month and also boasted appearances from Chris BrownRob49 and country star Morgan Wallen, among others.

Moneybagg dedicated the project to his “core fanbase” and has teased a second new album in 2024 catered to his female listeners.

J. Cole has also been steadily teasing his new album The Fall Off, which he revealed in February is almost finished.

The run up to its release has been rather turbulent for the North Carolina native, who dropped the surprise mixtape Might Delete Later in April containing a diss song aimed at Kendrick Lamar called “7 Minute Drill.”

Just days later, Cole apologized to K. Dot during his headlining set at Dreamville Festival, facing widespread backlash for bowing out of a rap battle.

He further polarized opinion with a raunchy and somewhat clunky guest verse on Cash Cobain’s “Grippy,” but has since redeemed himself in the eyes of many fans with a hearfelt feature on Tems’ “Free Fall.”

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