Hip Hop

Nicki Minaj Explains Why She Changed ‘Pink Friday 2’ Release Date

Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj moved her album date to her birthday and made two more major announcements.

The highly anticipated Pink Friday 2 is five years in the making so it’s only right that fans get an amazing experience for their wait. Nicki Minaj validated this when she went live on Instagram to announce a series of upcoming dates with a ton of surprises in store. The Barbz leader told fans that the album will now be released on her birthday, Dec. 8 after being rescheduled from Nov.17.

As Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz’s joint effort Welcome to Collegrove 2 is set for release on Nov. 17, many fans were questioning the overlap. Nicki was quick to dispel the notion that there was any ill-intent by assuring fans that Wayne was in fact aware that her album date had already been moved. “It’s been changed for some time now behind the scenes,” the rapper said on Instagram Live.

She explained, “As you can tell, Weezy and 2 Chainz, they announced their date, and you know how me and Weezy play. He would never do that if that was my album date. So, I wanted to make sure you guys were aware of that because I saw some of you guys questioning that.”

The New York rapper further explained that the vinyl would not have been ready in time for November but would be available for Dec. 1. However, as her birthday was only a week later, she opted to wait the extra week and move the release to Dec. 8 instead. This marks the second date change for the long-awaited sequel’s release as it was originally slated to arrive on Oct. 20.

While some fans were mildly disappointed that they had to wait a few extra weeks, they were quickly placated by the announcements that followed. A Pink Friday 2 fragrance will come out in conjunction with the album first on Amazon on Dec. 13 then at JCPenny on Dec. 26.

The final and most exciting announcement was that on the date the album was supposed to be released (Nov. 17), fans will be able to get pre-sale tickets for the Pink Friday 2 Tour. While Nicki has not announced when the tour is scheduled to begin, she said the routing will be available to fans on that date. She also added that another surprise will be announced then so it’s fair to say Nov. 17 is still a pretty monumental day in the Barbz calendar.

It is clear that the rapper holds this album dear to her heart as she spoke briefly about her experience making it over the last half-decade. “I have never in my life been so in love with something that I’m working on,” Nicki Minaj revealed. She also pointed to having writer’s block during her pregnancy and not wanting to say “freaky” stuff.

The superstar rapper deems this album “the biggest gift [she] has ever given humanity thus far,” adding that she stands by that and is willing to bet on it. “I will bet any amount of money that Pink Friday 2 the album is going to make people fall in love immediately,” Nicki said.

Pink Friday 2 is the sequel to Minaj’s 2010 debut album which topped the Billboard chart and has since been certified 3x Platinum. This second installment is the rapper’s first studio album in five years since Queen which spawned hits like “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Dreams” in 2018. Now in 2023, the chart-topping rapper plans to end the year with an album, fragrance, and tour dates. Barbie season is for sure upon us.