Nicki Minaj had a story to tell behind the J. Cole feature on her new album, Pink Friday 2.
Taking to Twitter on Friday (December 8) — the day of the album’s release and her birthday — Minaj revealed they had a deep conversation before recording “Let Me Calm Down” and thanked the Dreamville rapper for his contribution.
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“This man J. Cole had a 2 hour talk with me. 2. Two!!!!” she began. “Didn’t realize I was sitting on a therapist couch but ummm [open mouth emoji] 2 days later I heard this verse & couldn’t stop crying. The end.
“In a world where we know EXACTLY how & WHEN to tear each other apart, there are still Kings & Queens who know how to put ppl back together,” she continued. “Patch them up. Heal them. Empower them. Understand them. Listen to them. Make them do the most beautiful thing a human being can do. Smile.”
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The story prompted Nicki to recount the touching moment when she saw her son smile for the first time, writing: “After having #papabear I couldn’t wait for the day he’d smile @ me. First smile? It was one day when I blew a kiss @ him. I said ‘papa mmuuuaahhhhh!!!!’ then? Time froze. Froze. He smiled? He smiled. At Me? Looking directly in my eyes? Yes.
“Me? Held back the tears & just kept doing a billion more times,” she added. “I cried later. I’ve been trying to make him smile every day since…lol he actually makes me crack up laughing all the time. No idea where he got all that personality from but y’all pray for me.”
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She concluded by acknowledging that she has been wanting to work with Cole for quite some time and welcoming him to “#GagCity” on behalf of her Barbz.
You can view her post below.
Released via Young Money and Republic Records, Pink Friday 2 clocks in at 22 tracks — including the previously released “Super Freaky Girl,” “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” and “Last Time I Saw You” — and boasts additional features from Drake, Lil Wayne, Future, Lil Uzi Vert and others.
The project serves as the sequel to her 2010 debut album Pink Friday and her first album since 2018’s Queen, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.
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Pink Friday 2 almost didn’t make its scheduled release date, however – but thanks to Lil Wayne, Nicki was able to drop on her birthday as planned.
In a tweet on Sunday (December 3), Nicki showed love to her “beloved boss” for swooping in and saving the day by replacing her as a performer at 103.5 KISS FM’s Chicago Jingle Ball on Monday (December 4), thus preventing her album from being delayed again.
“Hi guys, I have to tell you something,” she began. “One last thing. Hope it doesn’t make you sad. I won’t be able to perform tmrw in #Chicago for Jingle Ball. I was so excited to see you guys. Pls accept my sincerest apologies. I’ll make it up to you on the Chicago stops of my tour early next year. Details to come.
“HOWEVER!!!!! My beloved brother/boss stepped up for me so that I wouldn’t have to push my album back. His name is Lil Wayne AKA the GOAT. He will perform tmrw @ the Chicago show.”
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She added: “I am STILL performing @ the #Atlanta Jingle Ball on the 14th and now I’ll ALSO be performing at the #Miami Jingle Ball on the 16th. Album STILL dropping this FRIDAY.”
