Nicki Minaj isn’t afraid to admit J. Cole out-rapped her on her own song—because she says that’s exactly how she planned it.
In an interview with Joe Budden uploaded to his Patreon account, Minaj appeared happy to admit she wasn’t the top rapper on the Pink Friday 2 collaboration “Let Me Calm Down” featuring the Dreamville lyricist.
“I’m telling you, but I’m just telling you, he did, absolutely f###ing ridiculous,” Minaj told Budden when asked if J. Cole’s verse was better.
In addition to detailing why she walked away with a newfound sense of respect for J. Cole, Minaj explained why she wants all of her collaborators to approach working with her in the same way.
“I want the person to be the best I want the person to give me the best verse,” she said in part. “I like that made me know that he respected me and cared about my project.”
Even though J. Cole may have gotten the best of her on their latest joint effort, her rank as one of the top female rap artists of all time remains solidified. Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart after moving roughly 228,000 total album equivalent-units in the first week. It’s her third chart-topping album, following 2010’s Pink Friday and 2012’s Roman Reloaded, which makes her the female rapper with the most No. 1 albums in history and breaks her previous tie with Foxy Brown.
Watch the clip of the interview below.
Nicki Minaj says J. Cole had the better verse on “Let Me Calm Down” 🤝pic.twitter.com/nIBQaDuOhD
— Team DREAMVILLE (@TeamDreamville) December 23, 2023