The link between Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj goes well beyond their many collaborations, as the dynamic of their relationship has evolved over time. Weezy was a mentor to Minaj as he discovered her early on when she appeared in “The Come Up” DVD series, but rapping was not her main priority. “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,” the “Beez in the Trap” artist recalled to MTV News in 2009. The two rappers first collaborated in 2007 on Minaj’s “Playtime is Over” mixtape, as Wayne signed her to his Young Money label, per Rap Up. Despite the early success of Minaj’s career, there was friction between her and the Young Money honcho.
In 2010, the “Starships” rapper revealed that Wayne nearly kicked her off the label after she left his tour to focus on her solo projects. “I started to record by myself and I lost track of what I was doing and who I wanted to be,” Minaj told Billboard at the time (via HipHop DX). That led to Minaj and Wayne burying the hatchet as she adjusted her priorities, which coincided with her meteoric rise in the industry.
Minaj was grateful for the opportunities being on Young Money afforded her. “I can’t even imagine my career, um, my creative spirit without Wayne,” she told Interview in 2011. Over the years, many wondered if the two were ever more than just co-workers and friends.
Lil Wayne’s offensive comments about Nicki Minaj
Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj were both megastars in the 2010s, and were often referred to as the king and queen of Young Money. A viral video captured a candid moment between the pair in 2012 when Minaj spoke about her and Wayne being hip-hop royalty. “If you was the real queen and I was the real king, off record, off camera, I’d be hitting that,” Tunechi interjected. Minaj was visibly offended by the “Lollipop” rapper’s insinuations, but he claimed the comment was a joke.
The duo played a couple while filming the video for Minaj’s “High School” track in 2013 which led to several awkward moments. “He refused to touch me, he’s so respectful, he refused to touch me, and then I was like, ‘Wayne,’ I was like, ‘You could do this,'” Minaj told MTV News at the time. Apparently, Wayne found it overwhelming to film a bedroom scene with the “Anaconda” rapper. “But he was acting scared, like, ‘Yo, Nick, this is my dream,'” Minaj recalled.
The leader of the Barbz made her relationship with fellow Young Money label mates clear in 2014. “Yo, I never f***ed Wayne, I never f***ed Drake … If I did I menage with ’em,” Minaj rapped on “Only.” Four years later, Weezy hinted that he and Minaj had been intimate, as he told the Bumbu Room in 2018 that, after recording with Minaj, they “make beautiful something else.” No romantic relationship was ever confirmed, but they remained close.
