Nicki Minaj is not here for Kanye West’s latest antics. The rap queen has blocked the release of their collaboration “New Body”, which was supposed to be on West’s new album Vultures, dropping this Friday. Instead, West announced his first footwear project “since liberation from Adidas on Twitter leaving fans confused and disappointed.
West was due to release Vultures, a full-length collaboration with vocalist Ty Dolla $ign on Friday. But shortly after the expected release, he posted a message to Minaj on social media reading: “May I call you about clearing new body on the new album”.
Minaj responded on an Instagram livestream, saying: “Regarding Kanye that train has left the station OK No disrespect in any way I just put out a brand-new album. Why would I put out a song that has been out for three years? Come on guys.”
“New Body” dates back to 2018 when West was working on his scrapped album Yaindhi. The song featured Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign, and was previewed at various listening parties for Jesus Is King, West’s ninth studio album. However, the song was taken off the track list shortly before Jesus Is King was released, reportedly due to “creative differences” between Minaj and West.
Minaj revealed in a recent interview with Hot 106 that West made her rewrite her verse for “New Body” four times, in order to fit into his gospel era. She said she respected his spiritual journey, but was surprised to see him “rolling a blunt and smoking” on Drink Champs, a popular podcast hosted by N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN.
“I missed it by a year, I guess,” Minaj said. “Had ‘New Body’ been out when he was not in his gospel era, then it would’ve seen the light of day. But, it didn’t, so it wasn’t meant to be. Everybody knows that’s the hit that got away.”
Minaj added that she thinks “the ship has sailed for ‘New Body’” and that she will “let everybody have that in their hearts”. She also said that she is not interested in working with West on his upcoming album Donda 2, which is executive produced by Future and features Marilyn Manson.
Minaj is currently gearing up for the release of her own album Pink Friday 2, which is expected to drop in February 2024. She has also announced a new single with Lil Baby titled “Do We Have A Problem”, coming out this Friday.
