Nicki Minaj Hints At Inspiration Behind ‘Pink Friday 2’

Nicki Minaj's next project is coming from a very personal place. The rap star wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) Monday night about missing someone (without specifying who she was referring to).

"Last night when all the world was sleeping, I was up…missing you…a painful amount of missing you…listening to the intro track on #PinkFriday2…I wrote it for you," the Pink Friday creator wrote. "On Dec. 8th…when the clock strikes 12, one of my best kept secrets & proudest moments will be unveiled."

The official track listing for Pink Friday 2, which is set to be released next Friday (Dec. 8) on Nicki's birthday, has yet to be released, so it is unknown exactly what the rapper means.

Fans flocked to the comments to guess what the rapper could mean.

"PAPA BEAR NAME REVEAL," one fan wrote about the rapper's two-year-old son whom she shared with her husband. Nicki affectionately calls her son "Papa Bear" but has never released his birth name.

"Selena Dreaming of You sample CONFIRMED for the intro-," another fan speculated as the rapper used some of the lyrics from the late singer's song in her tweet.

"So the intro track will touch our emotions, the way you tweeted my heart is already [emotional emoji] this is 4 u dad?" one fan asked about Nicki's father, Robert Maraj, who died in 2021 in a hit-and-run accident.

A general consensus among Nicki's fans is that they are excited for her next project, "I already have my tissue box ready queen because I know you’re about to have us in our feels!! So many emotions!! Can’t wait!! Thank you for sharing with us!" a fan wrote.

Pink Friday 2 is set to arrive on December 8. Take a look at one of the covers for the LP below:

Published: 11/10/23
UpdatedL 12/20/23

Nicki Minaj has been in the studio a lot this year. The rapper has collaborated with Ice Spice, Kim Petras, Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, and more. In 2023, Nicki has hopped on some of her fans' favorite artists' songs, as well as uplifting emerging women rappers in the industry. While she has been working hard to deliver some great collaborations this year, she has not forgotten about her own highly-anticipated fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2.

Pink Friday 2 was released on Dec. 8 after being delayed twice. The first time she announced a delay was back in June. Instead of the project being released on Oct. 20, Nicki changed it to November.

"I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell you this for a few days," Nicki wrote an Instagram post. "Due to some really exciting news that I’ll share with you guys @ a later time, I’ve shifted the album date just a tad bit. Trust me, it’ll be WELL WORTH THE WAIT…but since I AM shifting the date just a tad, I’d like to give you guys a tiny SIP of some more album tea so that I don’t have to get cussed out [sad emoji] so…here it goes: [pink bow emoji] MY NEW ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED ON 11.17.23."

After Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz announced that they would release their joint album Welcome 2 Collegrove on November 17, she decided to change the date again. Nicki and Wayne have a tight friendship, as he was the one who signed her to Young Money Entertainment in 2009.

"Weezy and 2 Chainz, they announced their date. And you know how me and Weezy play. He would never," Nicki said.

"I have never in my life been so in love with something that I’m working on," Nicki said in an Instagram Live video addressing the date change.

Pink Friday 2 went No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Take a look at Nicki Minaj's best collaborations of 2023 ranked below:

Nicki Minaj assisted Young Thug on "Money" alongside vocals from the late Juice WRLD. The track is found on Thugger's LP Business is Business. It was released in June. On Nicki's verse, she raps about her raunchy sexcapades and getting money (which is not a surprise given the title). This was the first time that all three rappers had been on the same record.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I got wild chicas who do whatever I say so (Say so)/
'Bout that dinero, so, if you want me you gotta peso"

A Kim Petras and Nicki Minaj collab was not on our 2023 bingo card. But they both pulled their weight on "Alone." The song samples Alice Deejay's 1999 hit "Better Off Alone." Nicki is not a stranger to hopping on a pop beat, and it was shown by how easily she slid on this record."Alone" is the third single to Petras' debut album, Feed the Beast. The song debuted at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I-I-It's Barbie and it's Kim Petras (Oh)/Main character syndrome, they extras (Okay)"

YoungBoy Never Broke Again's "WTF" is the lead single to his album Don't Try This At Home. He enlisted Nicki to end his song and she suited up with her ballerina shoes alongside other dancers in the music video. In Nicki's verse, the rapper reminds her haters that she's not one to mess with. This was the first time the two had collaborated.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "Keep sleepin' on the team, we gon' pause your dreams"

Sexxy Red's breakout hit "Pound Town" got Nicki Minaj's assistance for the remix. The song was already a hit on social media, specifically TikTok, and even earned Sexxy the inaugural top charter for Billboard's TikTok 50. Nicki came in and mirrored Sexxy's raunchy lyrics for her verse as well.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I'ma flip like a hundred bricks, get back all my licks"

Lil Uzi Vert enlisted Nicki Minaj for "Endless Fashion." The track arrives on their album, The Pink Tape. The record samples Eiffel 65’s "I’m Blue"; both rappers go back and forth mimicking the flow of the original creator. Nicki shows how well she can ride on someone else's flow but still keep her verses her own.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I got a Republican doctor (Ah)/Made my a-- great again, MAGA"

When Nicki Minaj and Lil Uzi Vert left the studio, they must have known that they had a hit on their hands. The track samples "Everybody" is the highest charting song on Pink Friday 2. The song debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Nicki Minaj hopped on Ice Spice's "Princess Diana" for their first-ever collaboration. Nicki matched Ice Spice's playful mood in the lyrics and visuals as the women boasted about their popularity in the streets. In the music video, the New York natives are twerking together in a pink dream house, which, in retrospect, foreshadowed their "Barbie World" collaboration.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "Nowadays, I be makin' 'em famous (Grrah)/She the princess, so fuck who you lames is (Grrah)"

Ice Spice and Nicki are in their own pink wonderland. The rappers linked up for the Barbie soundtrack with their song "Barbie World." The record served as the lead single off of the film's soundtrack. The rappers' energy together was so infectious it was an instant replay on our summer playlists. The song has been nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2024 GRAMMYS.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "Yellin' out, we ain't sellin' out/We got money, but we ain't lendin' out"