Isaac Brekken/WireImage; James Devaney/WireImageMemo to DJs everywhere: Don't mess with Nicki Minaj.
The rap queen called into New York City's Hot 97 to address on the air her beef with the radio station that led her to cancel her Sunday concert at its annual Hot 97 Summer Jam.
The resulting conversation was a heated hip-hop debate that didn't exactly paint Hot 97's personalities in the most flattering light.
First, some background: Minjaj made her decision to scrap her performance at the behest of her Young Money boss, Lil Wayne, who was upset that DJ Peter Rosenberg dissed her in front of fans at MetLife Stadium.
"I know there are some chicks in here waiting to sing along with 'Starships' later," Rosenberg said upon introducing an opening act. "I'm not talking to y'all now. F--k that bulls--t."
After getting wind of the slam, Weezy subsequently tweeted: "Young Money ain't doing Summer Jam."
In an intense back and forth last night with DJ Funkmaster Flex, who admitted they had already been arguing for some time already about Rosenberg's insult, Minaj explained that she pulled out for the sake of her fans, especially given the gig was livestreaming on the Internet.
"My fans didn't appreciate his comments," said Nicki. "Nor did my fans who were watching the livestream appreciate his comments…this was not about 2,000 people in a building that he was talking to. This is streaming to the world. Nicki Minaj opened up that stream to kids in London and Paris and people who were watching that stream, that stream was posted on my website. Those requests were posted on your station."
When Flex however suggested that Rosenberg had a right to express his opinion "which is what hip-hop is all about," Minaj fired back that it's not about his opinion—it's about respect.
"I wouldn't come on your stage when it's about us uniting people to come and see a show," the hitmaker said. "I wouldn't dare come on your stage or even say something to my fans negative about anyone on Hot 97 leading up to that concert."
(You can hear the first part of the interview below, but word of caution—it contains some explicit language).
The pair then got into a shouting match after Flex noted that Rosenberg only dissed "Starships," not the MC herself.
"When you disrespect Nicki Minaj, you're disrespecting our fans," she added. "Don't make them feel they're inferior in any way for their personal tastes in music."
The 29-year-old Minaj then elaborated that while she's not a quitter and hated not performing for her "babies" in her hometown, it took her mentor, Lil Wayne, to make her see the light.
"Yesterday…after a man goes on stage and disrespects me…and calls my music bulls--t and tries to rile people up against me before I step on stage, I still was going on that stage and, you know what? Shame on me," she noted. "Lil Wayne gave me a valuable lesson in self-worth."
The two exchanged some more heated words when Flex claimed she was falsely trying to make it about an attack on women and that Rosenberg wasn't "going at you because you're a woman." That prompted an angry retort from Minaj, who noted she was the only woman representing on Summer Jam's stage.
When the DJ suggested Lil Wayne didn't have to pull his roster from the lineup, she fired back.
"I will never go against the president of my label," she added. "Before I had New York radio, I had Wayne. I will never go against Wayne."
By the end of the interview, Flex conceded that the show may not have been the best time for Rosenberg to utter his remark. He also continued to press her the "Pink Friday" rapper for an apology, but she refused to offer one up—and based on the facts, who could blame her?
"Excuse me?" Minaj exclaimed. "No radio station that allowed someone to disrespect me is getting an apology."