Nicki Minaj went more than a year without new music. Thankfully, that changed earlier this month when the rapper uploaded her beloved 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty to streaming services, even adding three new songs to it. One of the new additions, “Seeing Green,” found the stars of the original Young Money crew — Drake, Lil Wayne, and Minaj herself — reuniting for the first time in nearly three years. The re-release debuted at No. 2 on the Billbaord 200 and became the highest-charting re-released mixtape by a rapper and the highest-debuting female rap mixtape in history.
After hearing of the album’s newfound success, Minaj took to Instagram to celebrate. “I love you guys so much,” she wrote to her fans. “Thank you. Can’t wait to share my album with you real soon. I have to say this. Don’t care who takes it the wrong way.” She then went on throw some shade at those who used TikTok challenges and merch bundles to boost their sales.
“Beam Me Up Scotty no singles ‘Seeing Green’ is over 5 mins with no hook,” she wrote, “Singles now are 2-3 mins, catchy hook. ‘Fractions’ is just rapping for over 3 mins, no hook. No videos (which is always the biggest push for females, myself included). No RADIO, very little play listing due to a surprise release (artists get over 100 playlists for big launches).” She continued, “No TikTok challenges (which has become EXTREMELY helpful to all artists) love the app, btw. No merch to tie into sales AND NO PRE-EXISTING singles out to ADD to my FIRST WEEK SALES.”
Beam Me Up Scotty is out on all DSPs via Republic Records. Get it here.