Nicki Minaj Blocks Release of Kanye West Collab—’That Train Has Left the Station, Okay?’

Photo Credit: Axel Antas-Bergkvist

Nicki Minaj nixes a Kanye collab from three years ago, saying the “train has left the station” on that one. Ye’s pissed because he wanted to include it on his latest album.Kanye’s upcoming album Vultures in collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign has shown signs of life recently, with listening parties arranged. But debuting the album has proved hard for the singer. He posted a message to Nicki Minaj reading, “May I call you about clearing ‘new body’ on the new album.” Minaj responded on Instagram saying no thanks.

“Regarding Kanye— that train has left the station, okay? No disrespect in any way. I just put out a brand new album. Why would I put out a song that has been out for three years? Come on, guys,” she said during a livestream. Minaj’s new album Pink Friday 2 debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart (December 23)—giving her the most number one album debuts among female wrappers.

Kanye didn’t take the rejection well, trading a few jabs about Nicki Minaj’s career in the process. “I made that girl rewrite her verse three times for ‘Monster.’ I supported her career. So I don’t know what it is,” he says in a video speaking about the rejection.Ye joked that Nicki’s refusal has delayed the release of the album even further, placating his fans with the announcement of Yzy Pod, his “first product since liberation from Adidas.” It’s a sock-like footwear design priced at $200 and described as the “foldable future of footwear.”

Yeezy hired Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy as the new head of design at his streetwear label. Rubchinskiy is a streetwear savant in his own right, prompting collabs with Adidas and Burberry before a sexual scandal ended those partnerships.

So when is Kanye’s new album coming? At this point, who knows. When Vultures eventually debuts it will have collaborations from Chris Brown, Timbaland, Kodak Black, Young Thug, and more.