On Thursday (Dec. 14), Kanye West tweeted a request to Nicki Minaj in the hopes that “New Body,” a collaboration that was recorded in 2018 and has since leaked online, could be cleared for Ye and Ty Dolla Sign’s Vultures album. Unfortunately for the Chicago star, his Young Money counterpart didn’t give him the green light.
“Regarding Kanye, that train has left the station, okay?” she said during a livestream earlier this morning (Dec. 15). “No disrespect in any way. I just put out a brand new album. Why would I put out a song that’s been out for three years? Come on, guys.” Notably, Vultures was scheduled to arrive today, yet isn’t available on any streaming platforms.
In a past interview with Hot 106, Minaj revealed that she was asked to write multiple verses for “New Body” after West wished to move into the gospel realm.
“I respect everybody and where they are in life, where they are spiritually. The public adored ‘New Body.’ Like, ‘New Body’ is the biggest hit record that never came out,” the Queens talent explained. “So, what I thought was interesting was that Kanye made me write my ‘New Body’ verse four times over in order to fit into where he was creatively and spiritually in his life, right, only to then, I go on the internet a few months later to see him on ‘Drink Champs.'”
She continued, “I missed it by a year, I guess. Had ‘New Body’ been out when he was not in his gospel era, then it would’ve seen the light of day. But, it didn’t, so it wasn’t meant to be. Everybody knows that’s the hit that got away… I think the ship has sailed for ‘New Body’… Everybody has come to love the original way they heard it.”