Nicki Minaj Refuses To Clear "New Body" Verse For Kanye West

BYAron A.Published on December 15, 20232.7K Views

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 07: Nicki Minaj attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/MG18/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

Nicki Minaj responded after Ye shared a screenshot of his text message to her.

It looks like we might end up waiting a while for the long-awaited arrival of Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures, especially since people, such as Nicki Minaj, only received notifications about clearing samples and verses last night. If you recall, a song called “New Body” emerged during the now-scrapped Yandhi era. Ye and Nicki came through with easily one of their best collaborations since “Monster,” though it required several rewrites. And while Nicki, at one point, urged Ye to release the song in its entirety, she doesn’t seem too keen on dropping the record right now.

A screenshot of an incredibly polite text message from Ye to Nicki surfaced online, reading, “Hi it’s ye… May I call you about clearing new body on my album.” The clock was ticking ahead of the album’s supposed release, even though the pre-save on Apple Music disappeared hours before Vultures was scheduled to drop on DSPs. Additionally, Ye already previewed the song earlier in the week during the Vultures rave in Miami, so naturally, fans have been under the impression that there would be an official release.

Nicki Responds To Ye

Unfortunately, that might not be the case. Nicki later hopped on Instagram Live where she got a few things off of her chest, including the issues with Ye over the song. According to her, it’s a little too late to be releasing a song they recorded years ago. “Now regarding Kanye, chile, that train has left the station,” she said. “Okay, no disrespect in anyway. I just put out a brand-new album. Why would I put out a song that’s been out for three years? C’mon guys.”

So, it looks like we, unfortunately, won’t be hearing “New Body” in its entirety when Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign release, Vultures. However, Thursday night’s listening party seemingly unveiled a new tracklist entirely with even more features including Lil Wayne, Future, and Playboi Carti. On the topic of Carti, Ye also contributed production to the Atlanta rapper’s new single, “2024.” Check out Nicki’s response above.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.