In late December, Pink Friday 2 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Nicki Minaj’s third-career No. 1 album. Pink Friday 2 also snagged the No. 1 spot on Minaj’s personal ranking of her own albums, and the latter chart matters more to Minaj. The iconic rapper sat down with Ebro for Apple Music, where she shared that initially wasn’t sold on the commercial viability of “FTCU,” which led into an explanation as to why she hasn’t dropped any Pink Friday 2 visuals. (The Beyhive can relate.)
Minaj’s story is set in the studio with J. Cole, the featured artist on her Pink Friday 2 track “Let Me Calm Down.” While there, she also played him “FTCU,” and his reaction played directly into the now-popular song’s placement on the album. Minaj explained that she had told Cole she “didn’t like the chorus because, you know, you wouldn’t be able to play it on radio.”
“[Cole] was like, ‘Who cares?'” Minaj said. “He was like, ‘Man, f*ck the radio!’ And I was like, ‘You’re right! F*ck the radio!’ And it dawned on me. Why the f*ck — this is not something I’m putting out to be as a single. This is something that’s a part of a body of work. And I didn’t even wanna put out singles. I purposefully don’t have videos out because I want y’all to listen to the music.”
So, tour visuals will have to suffice. Minaj will begin her Pink Friday 2 World Tour on March 1. See the dates here.
Watch Minaj’s conversation with Ebro above.
