Nicki Minaj's Collaborator RedOne Doesn't Mind Her Not Performing "Starships"

BYLavender Alexandria1.7K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
iHeartRadio Power 96.1's Jingle Ball 2023 - Show
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 14: Nicki Minaj performs onstage during iHeartRadio Power 96.1's Jingle Ball 2023 at State Farm Arena on December 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
One of the creators of Nicki Minaj's "Starships" doesn't mind it being phased out of her performances.

During a New Year's celebration at the start of the month, Nicki Minaj dazzled fans with some tracks from her new album Pink Friday 2. But when her DJ tried to queue up one of her classic hits, she skipped on the track. After teasing fans with the instrumental introduction to "Starships" Nicki made him skip the song. Despite boos from the crowd, she insists that she doesn't play that song anymore because she doesn't like it.

That got plenty of fans discussing both the song and Nicki's take on it. One person with a pretty interesting opinion on her choice to retire the song is the producer who originally helped her craft it in the first place. TMZ caught up with RedOne to ask him some questions about the song being retired. "I have the utmost respect for Nicki Minaj and I love her work very much. I will always respect an artist's wishes, I feel very proud to have made that record with her along with the global success it made," the producer said of her choice to stop performing the song.

"Starships" Producer Speaks On Nicki Minaj Skipping The Song During Live Shows

During a recent interview on Apple Music, Nicki spoke at length about her new album Pink Friday 2. She discussed playing "FTCU" for J. Cole before the album dropped and his love of the track. She also teased that the song could be getting a new remix soon which led many to speculate Cole could be involved. That led to a discussion about something else Cole told her about doing what's right for the songs she's writing above all else.

Nicki Minaj set fan expectations pretty low on any Pink Friday 2 deep cuts getting a music video. Some fan favorite cuts like "Everybody" have taken off since the album dropped but a supplementary music video isn't likely to follow. What do you think of the producer who made "Starships" sharing his take on Nicki Minaj cutting it from her live sets? Let us know in the comment section below.

[Via]

About The Author
Lavender Alexandria is a music and culture journalist based in Los Angeles, California. She’s covered dozens of musical genres and styles from the most mainstream to the most experimental and underground on her blog and accompanying YouTube channel that looks at music, pop culture, and Billboard charts since 2017: Lav’s Music Corner. Lavender has produced editorial and listicle content both in written and video form over the past far years and has also interviewed up-and-coming artists like Censored Dialogue. Her experiences covering culture have taken her from Hyperpop parties in LA to underground rap shows in Atlanta, to DIY punk shows in Charlotte. Lavender has also written for iHeartRadio, covering some of the biggest artists in Hip Hop such as Ice Spice, Drake, Doja Cat and Cardi B. She also has bylines with ScreenRant and continues to write for Ringtone magazine. Lavender is a lifelong Charlotte Hornets fan and her favorite rap artists include Clipping, Little Simz, Earl Sweatshirt, and Kendrick Lamar.