Somehow, we're already on episode 5 of Nicki Minaj's reliably compelling Beats 1 radio show.
"Critics, hi, I know you're tuned in," Minaj said at the top of the new episode. She then immediately gave out the so-called "Cock Sucka of the Day Award" to Irving Azoff. Azoff, of course, is the former CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment and has spent the last five years as the CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment. Minaj said Thursday that Azoff "allegedly launched a smear campaign against my tour." Notably, Azoff also co-manages Travis Scott.
As for that TMZ video that popped up this week allegedly showing Kylie Jenner avoiding Minaj on the VMAs carpet, Minaj isn't here for publications trying to shift the narrative to Nicki vs. Kylie. "I fucking love Kylie and that's not gonna change," she said. "She has been put in probably a little awkward situation but this is not real-life. This is entertainment, you guys."
Minaj then gave an extended shout-out to Kanye West, pointing to his influence on the industry at large.
Minaj simultaneously announced the new Queen's Priority Pass, which is now available via her web shop:
The episode, featuring DJ Boof, can be accessed via Apple Music right here. Keep an ear out for this slice of advice from Minaj: "If the bitch bad, you better eat that ass."
Other highlights include Minaj announcing another collaboration with Jason Derulo titled "Goodbye" featuring Willy William and producer David Guetta that will be dropping Friday. The video for "Barbie Dreams" will be directed by Hype Williams, and on next week's episode, Minaj is going to sit down with Funkmaster Flex. They previously hashed out their differences in an 80-minute interview on Hot 97.
Minaj spoke at length about the controversy of her pushing her U.S. Tour. She is considering doing the tour solo on the North American dates, but will co-headline with Future on the European leg. She promises to deliver quality for her live shows, and teased that her first performance since Queen's release will be at Made in America Festival in Philadelphia from Sept. 1 to Sept. 2.
She also gave Queen shout outs to Halle Berry, Rosa Parks (who received the Queen of the Week award), Margaret Thatcher, and Taylor Swift. After explaining that Queen Radio is not a place for her to sling mud at people, but to uplift women, she called one of her fans, John Tavius, and took listeners to church with a prayer.
She addressed publications spreading false information about her tour, giving Pitchfork the Dick Rider of the Year award. She cleared the air about dissing Tyga's hairline, saying people already knew about it and she would never "throw anybody under the bus." Then, she got into an entertaining conversation about the rules of sex between men and women. Ebro and Jean Nelson joined in.
She gave some more hidden gems about Queen, revealing "Thought I Knew You" had an extra rap verse, but she removed it so the lyrics wouldn't compete with "Nip Tuck." She says she may update the album with some changes. She wanted to get features from Monica and Tasha Cobbs, but they never panned out.
The most recent episode, which premiered earlier this week, included Minaj awarding the tongue-in-cheek Hoe N***a of the Week award to Travis Scott. As you recall, Scott's ASTROWORLD held on to the top spot on the Billboard 200 the week of Minaj's Queen debut. Minaj has criticized Scott's album promotion methods and called for a reevaluation of how album numbers are tallied, topics she addressed at length in episode 4 of Queen Radio.
Following episode 4's premiere, Minaj took issue with the wording of reports on her recently announced decision to postpone her U.S. headlining tour dates. "So to clarify, because I realize common sense is far from common... I haven't CANCELLED anything," Minaj said in an Instagram post instructing fans to "get me the name of this writer then hit them [and] tell them this is one black woman they will not bully in a corner by FRAUDULENT SHAMING TACTICS."
Minaj's U.S. tour will now begin in May of next year. "Future and I will now start the European leg of our tour first, so those dates will stay exactly the same and the U.S. leg of the tour will now start in May," Minaj said in a message to fans explaining the delay. "Because of that, with Future's schedule, I may have to take another co-headliner or I may just do it like I did the Pinkprint tour and it wouldn't be, like, a co-headline." She later clarified that the 2019 U.S. dates will likely be supported by multiple opening acts.
This post may be updated.
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