How Nicki Minaj & J. Cole’s ‘Let Me Calm Down’ Came Together

On November 6, Nicki Minaj noticed #LetMeCalmDown was trending on X (formerly known as Twitter) asked her Barbz to weigh in on who she should recruit to feature on the then-unreleased song. “It needs to be a spitter,” she wrote. “A rapper rapper.” Fast forward to this morning, December 8, and Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 is finally here — with “Let Me Calm Down” featuring J. Cole, who definitely qualifies as a rapper rapper.

How Did Nicki Minaj And J. Cole’s ‘Let Me Calm Down’ Come Together?

In a post-Elon Musk buying Twitter world, Minaj had enough room to write a very detailed post about the moving pieces behind “Let Me Calm Down.” See it below.

“Hey- thank u guys for posting.

This man J. Cole had a 2 hour talk with me. 2. Two!!!! Didn’t realize I was sitting on a therapist couch but ummm 2 days later I heard this verse & couldn’t stop crying.

The end.

In a world where we know EXACTLY how & WHEN to tear each other apart, there are still Kings & Queens who know how to put ppl back together. Patch them up. Heal them. Empower them. Understand them. Listen to them. Make them do the most beautiful thing a human being can do.

Smile.

After having #papabear I couldn’t wait for the day he’d smile @ me. First smile? It was one day when I blew a kiss @ him. I said ‘papa mmuuuaahhhhh!!!!’ then? Time froze. Froze. He smiled? He smiled. At Me? Looking directly in my eyes? Yes.

Me? Held back the tears & just kept doing a billion more times. I cried later.

I’ve been trying to make him smile every day since…lol he actually makes me crack up laughing all the time. No idea where he got all that personality from but y’all pray for me

Anyway,

Cole…

It’s been a long time coming, but the barbz welcome you with open arms to #GagCity

We appreciate you.

We hope you stay [fingers crossed emoji]

#PinkFriday2
#LetMeCalmDown”

Pink Friday 2 is out now via Republic Records. Find more information here.