In the words of one of the G.O.A.T.’s, “…the game be so boring,” did she lie? Well, having the most Billboard chart entries of any female rapper, consistently topping every Billboard chart and being known for washing peers and predecessors like Jay-Z and Ye, she may be on to something.
Nicki Minaj, newlywed and new mother may have eclipsed her years-long hate train and that might be thanks to her new manager, Irving Azoff and his management team FULLSTOP-as of 2019. Azoff managed Travis Scott during the infamous bundling scandal that manipulated Billboard album sales via merch bundling, allowing Scott’s “Astroworld” to surpass Nicki to reign as number 1.
Now almost every celebrity and artist that spoke out against Nicki is seeking amends or attempting to bury the hatchet. Celebs like Lil Yachty, City Girls, Lil Nas X, Stefflon Don and now even Wendy Williams are using words like ‘icon’ in reference to Nicki, where once not long William’s said Nicki, “Ruined everything.”
Nicki’s long awaited fifth album titled “NM5,” marks her second-longest hiatus to date. Although she has blessed her fans with a number of diverse features on songs such as Nba Youngboy “What That Speed Bout”, Doja “Say So Remix”, Meghan Trainor “Nice To Meet Ya”, and the record-breaking collab with Karol G “Tusa”, her fans are patiently waiting for a curated
body of work.
One Instagram live later and we were blessed with her critically acclaimed “Beam Me Up Scotty” mixtape, with five songs added, three being original “Crocodile Teeth” a remix of an original song by Skillibang. We all found ourselves appreciating Nicki’s early work filled with hard-hitting lines, witty wordplay, and early experimentations with catchy pop-tinged anthems(see track titled Envy).
NoGhostwriter has compiled a ranking of artists most likely to be featured on NM5, if we missed any tag @NoGhostwriter with your NM5 predictions:
10. Lil Wayne
No Nicki album would be right without the lyrical dexterity of her mentor-Tunechi. Even when he isn’t included in the initial release, he is added to the subsequential Deluxe album. He is featured on two standout tracks from Nicki’s Queen, “Rich Sex,” and “Good Form(remix).” He will no doubt be on NM5.
9. Ms Banks
This South-London rapper, singer and songwriter known for songs such as “Snack” and “Day One” was brought out by Nicki during the London leg of The Nicki Wrld tour. During an appearance on The Norte Show she confirmed she is featured on NM5, “All I’m saying is… when it drops, it drops. It’s amazing.”
8. Swae Lee
In an Instagram live in August 2019 Nicki shared unreleased songs, one of which featured Swae Lee. The untitled track was sonically Dancehall inspired but had a melody like Nicki’s, “Bed.” The duo collaborated in 2018 on a standout Nicki track titled “Chun Swae” and will undoubtedly not be the last.
7. Saucy Santana
Nicki Minaj expressed interest in working with the Miami rapper after turning down his friends the City Girls for a collab. Saucy Santana’s “Walk” was name dropped in a Clubhouse room after Nicki picked him for a feature. There is always a possibility it gets “FEFE” traction and earns an album entry.
6. Polo G
This Chicago newbie is fresh off his Billboard number 1 single “RAPSTAR” and his momager-Stacia Mac-is a huge barb, hopefully this will create a perfect storm for Polo G’s feature. Stacia can be seen on Instagram reciting Nicki lyrics and most recently adopting Nicki’s “Backyard Challenge.”(link to IG)
5. Coi Leray
Whether or not you like her, this Boston-born and Hackensack, New Jersey rapper and singer is getting a lot of attention lately. Most recently a viral video as been making the rounds of Coi Leray performing in Dallas* to an underwhelmed audience. This was followed with a teary-eyed Instagram live from the rapper. Nicki Minaj got wind of it and consoled the rapper via Twitter, “Don’t do that. Chinup…” If Nicki noticed this she most likely heard Coi Leray’s campaign for Nicki to hop on “No More Parties(remix)”
4. Drake
Post-Meek Mill/Cardi B we didn’t know where Nicki and Drake’s relationship stood musically and personally. Allegiances were tested on many occasions like Drake bringing Cardi B out while she and Nicki were in an ill-matched feud. Drake squashing beef and collaborating with his one-time rival Meek Mill and then former boyfriend of Nicki’s. Our prayers were answered with the release of BMUS that included Seeing Green, a collab featuring “The Big 3” that being Nicki, Drake and Lil Wayne.
3. Juice Wrld
Before the uber-talented and genre-bending young artist’s untimely death Juice went on tour with Nicki, The Nicki Wrld tour, and we would be fools to believe they didn’t work together. Proof of a NickiWrld collab was verified by Nicki via Instagram live when she previewed a song rumored to be titled, “Arctic Tundra ” and it SLAPS. This collab is sure to go #1
2. Rihanna
While on a long hiatus herself and making a fortune with her Fenty line, there are rumors of a Nickianna feature in the works. Although there has been no confirmation from either camp this is a response to them finally following each other on Instagram. Nicki fondly replies, “Queen Rih” to a barbs Instagram post speculating a Rihanna collab. There has long been a rumored beef between the two and this would dispel any rumors.
1. Jay-Z
We have gone too long without a Hov and Nicki collab since “Monster”. We may finally get our just desserts considering Nicki still asks Jay-Z for opinions on songs like Queen‘s “LLC” a collaboration is never off the table. Adding to speculation Hov & Bey were spotted in Jamaica allegedly filming a video. And we all know how seriously the Carters take Nicki’s Visuals.
Nicki’s Queen was critically acclaimed and the negative reviews stem from underwhelming performances from featured artists. Hopefully with NM5 Nicki is blessed with stellar features or shines on Solo tracks like she did on “LLC”, “Miami” and “Barbie Dreams.” Until NM5’s release fans at least have BMUS to satiate their hunger for Nicki’s lyrical prowess.