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Rihanna and Nicki Minaj entered the music industry in the early 2000s and took it by storm. While Riri holds the Guinness World Record for being the wealthiest female music artist, Minaj is the wealthiest female rapper, and both artists are currently at the top of their games.
Nicki and Rihanna's friendship blossomed in the early years of their careers. The duo first came together to create music in 2010 and has since remained close, wishing and congratulating each other on their successes. Their double date three years ago cemented the fact that their friendship is still going strong.
Rihanna's Raining Men marked her first collaboration with Nicki Minaj
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The first collaboration between Nicki Minaj and Rihanna happened with the latter's feature on the Umbrella singer's track, marking the beginning of their friendship. Minaj was featured on Riri's Raining Men, released as the third single from her fifth studio album, Loud.
Raining Men was released on December 7, 2010, and peaked at number 48 on the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Songs chart.
Before the song's release, Rihanna was interviewed by MTV on October 12, where she complimented the Hey Mama rapper as a truly talented artist, saying:
"I'm really amazed that she can write like that. [Nicki] not only raps but she can write songs too. It was really easy actually. We were going back and forth with the texts on how we were going to get to do it because we were in two different places and had two opposite schedules."
According to the media outlet, Rihanna had also praised Minaj on Capital FM in the past, expressing her eagerness to work together:
"You know, I worked with her before on [2009's] Rated R and she was just writing me some really good ballads, and I couldn't wait to work with her again and finally have her on my record."
Nicki Minaj's debut album had a Rihanna feature in 2011
Following her feature in Raining Men, Nicki Minaj wanted to collaborate with Rihanna on a track for her debut studio album, Pink Friday. Fly was the manifestation of that desire - released on August 30, 2011.
Two months later, the Bang Bang rapper mentioned the song to be "one of my absolute faves" from her debut album in a Facebook post, adding:
"I wanted to work with Rihanna for a long time. I'm very proud of her accomplishments; especially since she was born on an island like me."
Explaining what the song was about, Minaj said:
"This song is a female empowerment song. But then again, it's not specific to just women. It speaks about flying, soaring high in the face of every single solitary adversity that comes your way."
The Young Money hitmaker also revealed that she had spoken about the media's attempt to box her in the track. She admitted to feeling suffocated and said she now had the courage to "redefine" herself.
Following its release, Fly acquired the 19th position on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Its music video was dropped on YouTube a day before the song's official release and has since amassed over 195 million views.
On November 30, J.R. Rotem, one of the producers of Pink Friday, spoke to MTV about how Nicki Minaj had "manifested" a Rihanna feature on her album.
Rotem, who reached out to Rihanna with the collaboration proposition on Nicki's behalf, told MTV:
"Near the tail end of her project, I came into the studio and I had some tracks [for her]. That was one of the ones I was excited about. When I played it for her, she knew instantly: 'Yes, this is the record.' She connected with it immediately. I could just tell she was excited by it, which excited me."
Minaj and Rihanna's family reunion in 2021
While Nicki Minaj and Rihanna have been close throughout the years, their friendship stayed mostly off social media until May 2021, when the artists started following each other on Instagram.
Several months after their social media connection, Minaj shared pictures of a double date where she, her husband, Kenneth Petty, and Baba Bear had joined the Disturbia singer with her beau, A$AP Rocky. The artists' group date was a major moment for their fans, indicating to them that the power duo was still as close as ever.
Rihanna's name was dragged in Nicki-Megan feud in February 2024
In February 2024, shortly after Megan Thee Stallion's Hiss was released, Minaj made a comment about her that involved Rihanna's name. Hitting back at Megan after her latest diss track hinted at her husband, Kenneth Petty's status as a registered s*x offender, Nicki Minaj accused her of wanting to have "a Rihanna moment" while talking to her fans on X.
The Side to Side rapper was referring to shooting incident with Tory Lancet with her comment, referring to Riri suffering domestic violence at the hands of Chris Brown.
Her comment sparked a backlash on the internet, with netizens claiming she went too far with the comparison. The comment was also speculated to drive a wedge in Nicki and Riri's friendship.
However, later that month, when Minaj wished Rihanna on her birthday, all speculations were put to rest.
While Riri hasn't released a new album since her ANTI in 2016, she has announced an upcoming headlining tour happening in 2025. Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj, who was supposed to drop the deluxe version of Pink Friday 2 this month, announced that a fresh album, Pink Friday 3, is currently in the making.
