Young Money star Nicki Minaj is not yet ready to let go of getting called out at Sunday’s Hot 97 Summer Jam concert and dialed up rival station Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club” to discuss her no-show.
Claiming she is not seeking an apology, Minaj narrowed in on what her problem with Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg ultimately is.
“I wasn’t going to do ‘Starships’ and I think everybody knows that,'” Minaj told hosts DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God and Angela Yee. “I’m way smarter than that. I know what people wanted to see. I think it was just someone trying to be sarcastic — it was improper timing, it was in bad taste. Everybody makes mistakes but you’ve got to own your mistake. That’s the problem. When you don’t own it, then people feel like, ‘Oh, okay, you feel like you can do this in the future and get away with it,’ and that’s the problem. … I don’t want an apology. I don’t care about an apology. … ” (“The Breakfast Club”)
Nicki also used the opportunity to dismantle rumors claiming she planned on blasting rap rival Lil’ Kim at Summer Jam.
“That’s not in my character,” Minaj added when asked if she planned on having a staged Lil’ Kim funeral at Summer Jam. “That’s ridiculous. Let’s stop with all the rumors that are giving people false hope that they’re relevant. Please. Angela, I’m not about to come on my stage and bring death on my stage. My stage is about life. It’s about life and love and that’s it. Period.” (“The Breakfast Club”)
Rosenberg also publicly spoke out on his remarks this week.
“In addition to the morning show, I do an underground show on Sunday nights, I host all of our showcases, I interview underground artists at my house, that’s kind of who I am,” Rosenberg said. “So when I went out there, I wasn’t really thinking about it, I was just trying to hype up all of the fans who were there to see Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, more of the underground acts. It just sort of came out. I did not anticipate the backlash.” (TMZ)
Last night, Minaj addressed the Summer Jam no-show in a heated debate with Hot 97’s Funkmaster Flex.
“Flex. I need you to breathe. You’re not even listening and I need you to simma. For three hours, we emailed [Hot 97 manager Ebro Darden], and actually, my manager was the first person to tell me: Yo, you’re not going on that stage,” she revealed. “[Lil] Wayne was the second person. For three hours, we could not get a resolution. [CEO of Hip Hop Since 1978] G. Roberson emailed me, and said: Hey, I need you on the phone. Ebro said ‘Let me get to the bottom of this.’ You know I love Ebro. After he sent that e-mail, we never heard back. … Flex…I’m not even going to say what could’ve happened yesterday, and please don’t interrupt. Relax. Relax. This is the real reason why I called you. You said something about my record sales.” (“Funkmaster Flex Show”)
Following the Sunday incident, Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill backed up the rapper’s decision.
“No disrespect to Nicki, but I need to clear up an inaccuracy. I was not scheduled to be a special guest on her set at Summer Jam, I was invited by Nas to perform with him. I don’t have details on exactly what transpired between the station and the artists, but I do support artists standing by their beliefs, and walking with integrity,” she wrote June 4th. “We have to find a better way to commercially exploit music, while giving artists their proper respect. This cannot be done while taking their contributions for granted, or trying to control the scope of their growth and power through threats and fear tactics. We can do better than this, there is a better way, or else ‘we’ (the proverbial we) find ourselves in danger of being hypocrites!!!” (Statement)
Check out Nicki Minaj interview below: