One of the biggest songs of 2023 was Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s song “Barbie World,” which interpolated Aqua’s 1997 hit “Barbie Girl.” However, it wasn’t the only song to sample that song. In 2022, Saweetie previewed a clip of her own song, “Icy Girl, Icy World,” generating some impressive buzz months before “Barbie World” was tapped to feature on the Barbie film’s soundtrack. Unfortunately, her song was never released and fans awaiting the Bay Area rapper’s big comeback were left disappointed. While one of her collaborators on the song offered his own take on the situation, Saweetie never addressed why she shelved “Icy Girl”… until now.
When a fan on Twitter (never calling it “X”) posted a clip of Saweetie previewing the song during a livestream and asked, “What happened to this?” Saweetie’s response was short and simple. “Warner wouldn’t clear it,” she explained.
warner wouldn’t clear it https://t.co/TcLIQY07Ag
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(@Saweetie) April 21, 2024
Although it appears Saweetie is still signed to the label, she hasn’t been shy about calling out Warner in the past. Earlier this month, she called on the label to approve the budget for the rollout of her single “Nani,” which she’s been teasing for weeks. And in 2020, she vented her frustrations with the label for flubbing the release of her song “Best Friend” with Doja Cat.
Meanwhile, although Saweetie said she didn’t mind Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice “borrowing” her idea for the Barbie soundtrack, her co-writer on the song, Jason Martin (fka Problem), censured the bigger star for what he saw as dirty business. “I can confirm this song and idea was sent to her last year to submit for the Barbie movie,” he posted on Twitter. “It’s sad to see that the original artist has been pushed off a song that was her idea and was meant for both of them.”