Joe Budden reveals he turned down Nicki Minaj’s request for a surprise guest appearance on her tour.
On the latest episode of the Joe Budden Podcast published on Saturday, the rapper turned media personality said that Minaj reached out to him about an opportunity to join her on stage at the Pink Friday 2 Tour stop in Newark, New Jersey.
“Nicki hit me last night,” said Budden at the 41:29 mark. “She hit me when she was about to go on in Jersey, I was home. She didn’t say, ‘Yo, come out to Jersey’ and do that. She was 30 minutes from going on stage and she hit me. I said, ‘I want to go to the New York show.’ And she said, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna come out and do ‘Pump it Up.’”
Despite trying to laugh it off as a joke, Minaj apparently told Budden she was “deadass” to which Budden said he’s “retired.”
Budden said on the podcast that he feels “pussy” about it but not as much as his co-hosts suggest. While he admitted that he did give the opportunity some thought and that he still remembers the words to his 2003 hit single, Budden implied it’s about the physical nature of the performance that gave him doubts.
“It ain’t the words, it’s my body. I gotta go out there and act hype, and I don’t know, I ain’t hype…I ain’t hype no more,” said Joe.
Despite Budden not making it to Gag City Newark, Minaj brought out surprise guests Fivio Foreign and Jadakiss. Monica, who appears nightly on the Pink Friday 2 Tour, also performed as scheduled.
Long before Budden became a podcaster, the New Jersey native became a sensation when he released his signature hit “Pump It Up” in 2003 under Def Jam Records.
The track, which was featured on 2 Fast 2 Furious and You Got Served, peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to No. 10 on the Top Rap Songs chart, according to Billboard.
In June of 2016, Budden performed his “final” concerts at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.
“Pump It Up” was certified Gold by the RIAA last August, just in time for the song’s 20th anniversary, per Vibe.
