Nicki Minaj clarified her thoughts on Taylor Swift after her megafans, known as the Swifties, slammed the rapper online.
The furor started over what Swifties thought was a dig at their beloved singer when Minaj tweeted about the vinyl copies of Swift's albums dominating record stores. Minaj had been replying to a fan's questions in the since deleted posts.
Earlier this month, Minaj dropped her new studio album, Pink Friday 2, which jumped to the top of the charts and managed to unseat Swift's hold on Billboard's top five selling vinyl albums of the week.
Pink Friday 2 debuted at number two on the vinyl charts after Swift had become the first woman to hold all top five position on the chart the week prior with her albums, Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version), Midnights, Folklore and Speak Now (Taylor's Version).
Minaj had already taken aim at Billboard for deducting the total first week sales of physical copies of Pink Friday 2 and seemed to then slam Swift and their common record label, Republic. Some Swifties thought Minaj was displeased that Swift had more albums out on the shop floor, but she tried to explain nothing was further from the Truth.
Following the backlash, Minaj took to Instagram Live where she took "full accountability" for her tweets and clarified what she actually meant.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have said anything on Twitter the other day and I take full accountability for if," Minaj began.
"Understand this, you guys. Yes, you guys are angry because when you go to the store, you see Taylor Swift vinyls and you don't see my vinyls. This is the other thing my label gave me a choice of putting out an album doing it during the Christmas season."
She added that her fans, known as Barbz, had to "accept that Taylor is on a roll right now, so obviously" record stores will promote her vinyls more heavily.
"You guys, this is a business," she said, explaining that she and other rappers in general are not known for selling many vinyls, so retailers would prioritize what would sell better.
Minaj pointed out that Pink Friday 2 had smashed records for a vinyl by a female rapper and this will get retailers "to take notice," and begin to feature her albums more prominently in stores.
The rapper later went on X, formerly Twitter, to praise Swift further.
"The SAG QUEEN TAYLOR DESERVES!!!! PERIOD!!!!! She takes months & years off then comes back with great music & fans who'll never leave her!!!! The END!!!!!!! I was simply discussing vinyls w/the barbz due to questions they had for me..." Minaj wrote.
And added: "We broke the record in vinyl sales for any female rap album in history. That means that retailers had no way of knowing that the vinyls would be in such high demand. Either way, now they do! That's a marvelous thing! Taylor & her fans have put in the work. Now it's our turn."
"This is a CELEBRATION!!!!!"
Minaj explained that Swift's success was "something to aspire to," and warned her fans off sending hate messages to anyone.
"Also, If you love me.... Only if you truly love me...unsend any mean message you may have sent to Republic, Billboard, etc. I promised myself I'd learn to live in the moment & to spend every day being filled with GRATITUDE. I'm 17 years into my career. Need I say more?" she wrote on X.
She also told one fan "in a heartbeat" after they asked if she would ever collaborate with Swift.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
