Nicki Minaj Opens Up About How Her Father’s Death Inspired ‘Pink Friday 2’
Nicki Minaj's recent album, Pink Friday 2, made waves on the Billboard 200 after its December release. Featuring standout tracks like “Everybody (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)” and “Needle (feat. Drake),” the album also opened with the emotionally charged "Are You Gone Already." In a revealing interview with Apple Music on Thursday (Jan. 4), Minaj shared the profound inspiration behind this poignant track – the sudden loss of her father in 2021.
As she recounted the tragic event, Minaj explained, “My father had just passed. So right after I had the baby, and it was during Corona [the pandemic], and nobody knew what was going on, so, one day, I was rocking the baby and I don’t normally have the phone on me when I’m rocking him,” On that fateful day, her father called her expressing excitement about coming to California to help her. Little did she know that it would be their final conversation.
Later that night, Minaj received the devastating news of her father's hit-and-run car accident, which took his life. Overwhelmed by grief, she fainted for the first time in her life. Strikingly, Minaj revealed that she had dreams foretelling an accident involving a loved one, with one occurring just two days before her father's tragic incident.
The emotional depth of Minaj's grief found expression in the track, including its title. She disclosed that during the final phone call with her father, she uttered the words "Are you gone already?" – a phrase that encapsulated the heartbreaking reality she faced.
In the interview, Minaj also shed light on her collaboration with Drake on "Needle." Originally intended for Drake's album, For All the Dogs, the track found its home on Pink Friday 2 after Drake felt it didn't quite fit the sonic landscape of his project. Minaj shared, “He told the fans at his tour that I was going to be on his album. And actually, the song he was talking about was ‘Needle.'”
Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday 2 not only stands as a musical triumph but also serves as a personal journey, navigating the depths of grief and the complex tapestry of emotions that accompany loss and remembrance.