The Barbz weren’t disappointed.
Earlier this week, Nicki Minaj began sharing a series of Instagram posts that teased some kind of release and/or announcement set for Friday. The rapper told fans she would be hitting up Instagram Live shortly before midnight, leading many to believe she had new material in store. And they were correct.
During the Thursday night stream, Nicki confirmed Beam Me Up Scotty would finally be released on major streaming services, and would include a fresh track called “Seeing Green” featuring Drake and Lil Wayne. Drizzy joined the broadcast just minutes before midnight, and explained why he had sent the song to Nicki.
“It didn’t feel right, you not being on it ...” he said. “Nobody does this shit better than you … We miss your presence, we miss your bars.”
Nicki added: “[Drake] got me out of my writer’s block. He sent me something and it made me feel so competitive again …”
In addition to the Drake and Lil Wayne collab “Seeing Green,” the updated version of Beam Me Up Scotty features two other new tracks: “Fractions” and “Crocodile Teeth (Remix)” with Skillibeng.
The DJ Holiday-hosted project was released on April 18, 2009, and marked Nicki’s third mixtape. She previously released 2007’s Playtime Is Over and 2008’s Sucka Free. It spanned 23 tracks, including “I Get Crazy,” “Itty Bitty Piggy” and the “Best I Ever Had” remix and featured contributions from Drake, Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Busta Rhymes, Rihanna, and more.
Nicki spoke about the tape during a 2009 interview with MTV News, saying she was motivated to create Beam Up Scotty after touring with the Young Money crew: “It made me hungry. That’s what inspired me and the music for the Beam Me Up Scotty tape — the ‘I Am Music’ tour.”
She also said the effort was intended to showcase her skills as an artist, as she felt talent was being overshadowed by her image.
“I was OK, but I wasn’t focusing on the music. I was doing pictures and stuff like that, so people knew me more for pictures than my music,” she said. “But with the Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape, they have to take me seriously as an artist. So, I would say maybe a year ago, I started sharpening my skills. Recently, I’ve been singing more. Now it’s official — it’s going down like ‘Town Julie Brown.’”
You can stream Beam Me Up Scotty now on Apple Music and Spotify below.
