Sampling: it’s a tricky and somewhat delicate business in music. Permission needs to be granted in order for one artist to use another’s music (otherwise a world of legal pain usually awaits), and that can sometimes be a pretty time-consuming process. That’s what Nicki Minaj is living through right now, anyway, with the rapper revealing that one of the songs on her forthcoming new album Queen features an as-yet-uncleared Tracy Chapman sample. Taking to Twitter, Minaj revealed that the whole record – which is now due out on 17 August (see below) – is currently being held up by the sampling issue.
She’s now torn between either waiting for the sample to clear or removing the track from the album altogether. ‘So there’s a record on #Queen that features 1 of the greatest rappers of all time,’ Minaj teased in a since-deleted tweet. ‘Had no clue it sampled the legend #TracyChapman – do I keep my date & lose the record? Or do I lose the record & keep my date? do we push #Queen back 1 week? Ugh! I’m torn, y’all help.’ She also tweeted directly at Tracy (which has also since been deleted), asking: ‘Tracy Chapman, can you please hit me. omg for the love of #Queen’. The rapper has now asked her fans for advice on what to do in regards to the song – setting up a Twitter poll to help her decide what course of action to take.
Minaj has now confirmed that Queen will be released on 17 August, sharing the news in a note on her ‘Essentials’ playlist on Apple Music. ‘I hope you enjoy my playlist. Can’t wait for you guys to hear my 4th album QUEEN ON AUGUST 17!!!!!!!’ she wrote (via Complex). The album has already faced delays, with the original release date in June having been scrapped as Minaj told her fans that it was ‘the better choice’.A while ago Nicki Minaj was branded ‘childish’ by fans for hitting back at a music writer’s criticism of her work.
While some fans defended Nicki’s response, others called her ‘beyond embarrassing’ after a Toronto based music and culture writer Wanna took to Twitter to offer her two cents on the direction she hopes the Chun Li artist will take with her new album. The blogger, who has now made her page private, tweeted on 29 June: ‘You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc. She’s touching 40 soon. New direction is needed.’But it seems the criticism rubbed the 35-year-old up the wrong way as she perched herself in the writer’s direct messages to call her out for having a musical opinion.
The scathing message saw Nicki use examples of her previous songs and collaborations with award-winning gospel singer Tasha Cobbs, as she called the critic an ‘ugly ass.’ Nicki responded: ‘Eat a dick you hatin ass hoe. Got the nerve to have a Trini flag on your page. You must not have heard the Pinkprint or Pills N Potion, Bed of Lies, Save Me. My recent feature with Alicia Keys, Tasha Cobbs. ‘Just say you jealous. I’m rich, famous, intelligent, pretty and go! But wait, leave my balls. Tired of you sucking on them.’ Wanna, who posted the private messages on her then-public Twitter page, responded to Nicki, writing: ‘I 100% stand by everything I said about your music and it wasn’t malicious jab, it was a critique.’
The internet was left divided over Nicki’s reaction. ‘Nicki Minaj is very insecure and childish. What the girl said wasn’t bad and she took it and ran with it,’ said one social media user. Another Twitter user said: ’Nicki Minaj is beyond embarrassing for this and so immature. She needs industry friends her own age to help her because this is not okay.’ Another added: ‘But going out of your way to DM a random and tell them how rich you are is beyond embarrassing and sad. She’s too grown for this.’