Credited by her real name, Onika Maraj, Nicki Minaj has co-written all the songs on her albums, from her 2010 debut, Pink Friday, through her fourth album, Queen, in 2018, and hits “Super Bass,” “Anaconda,” “Starships,” and “Fefe,” among others.
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Since 2010, Minaj has also collaborated with dozens of artists—Elton John (“Always Love You”), Doja Cat (“Say So”), Lil Baby (“Do We Have a Problem?”), Meghan Trainor (“Nice to Meet Ya”), and Lil Wayne (“Knockout”), along with songs with Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Drake, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Megan Thee Stallion, and Karol G, among others.
For more than a decade, Minaj has also written a smaller separate collection of tracks for other artists. Here’s a look at five songs Minaj wrote outside of her own catalog.
1. “Dark Fantasy,” Kanye West, featuring Teyana Taylor (2010)
Written by Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, RZA, Mike Dean, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), No I.D., Malik Yusef, Jeff Bhasker
The opening track of Kanye West‘s fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, “Dark Fantasy” was recorded in Oahu, Hawaii, and produced by RZA of Wu-Tang Clan.
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon appears on the track (and two others on the album), along with Minaj and Teyana Taylor who give an opening narrative. The song also samples British composer Mike Oldfield’s 1983 song, “In High Places.”
I fantasized ’bout this back in Chicago
Mercy, mercy me, that Murciélago
That’s me the first year that I blow
How you say broke in Spanish? Mi no hablo
Me drown sorrow in that Diablo
Me found bravery in my bravado
DJs need to listen to the models
You ain’t got no fuckin’ Yeezy in your Serato?
Stupid, but what the hell do I know?
2. “Beauty and a Beat,” Justin Bieber, featuring Nicki Minaj (2012)
Written by Nicki Minaj, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Zedd
“Beauty and a Beat” was the only track Justin Bieber didn’t co-write on his third album, Believe. Co-written by Minaj for Bieber, the track hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lyrically, Bieber is singing about wanting to take a special someone to the club so they can “party like it’s 3012.”
Show you off, tonight I wanna show you off
What you got, a billion could’ve never bought
We gonna party like it’s 3012 tonight
I wanna show you all the finer things in life
So just forget about the world, we young tonight
3. “Girl on Fire,” Alicia Keys (2012)
Written by Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keys, Salaam Remi, Jeff Bhasker, Billy Squier
She’s just a girl, but she’s on fire, sings Alicia Keys in the empowering “Girl on Fire.” The title track of Key’s fifth album, “Girl on Fire” was inspired by her marriage to Swizz Beatz and the birth of her son Egypt.
“When I read that line, it was so crazy impactful to me, and I carried that title around for months,” said Keys in 2012 of the song. “I knew that I was going to name the album that.”
The song also samples drums from the 1980 song “The Big Beat” by guitarist Billy Squier, who is also credited on the track.
She’s just a girl and she’s on fire
Hotter than a fantasy
Lonely like a highway
She’s livin’ in a world and it’s on fire
Filled with catastrophe
But she knows she can fly away
4. “Side to Side,” Ariana Grande, featuring Nicki Minaj (2016)
Written by Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Alexander Kronlund, Ilya
In 2014, Minaj and Ariana Grande first collaborated, along with Jessie J, on “Bang Bang,” off the soundtrack for Pitch Perfect 2. Both continued working together over the next few years, including on Grande’s third album, Dangerous Woman and her reggae-pop single “Side to Side,” about a girl drawn to a bad boy despite all the warnings. The song peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100.
Minaj later co-wrote “The Light is Coming” off her fourth album Sweetener, and on another featured collaboration, “Bad to You,” featuring Grande and Normani, for the 2019 Charlie’s Angels soundtrack.
Been tryna hide it
Baby what’s it gonna hurt if they don’t know?
Makin’ everybody think that we solo
Just as long as you know you got me
And boy I got ya
‘Cause tonight I’m making deals with the devil
And I know it’s gonna get me in trouble
Just as long as you know you got me
5. “Swish Swish,” Katy Perry, featuring Nicki Minaj (2017)
Written by Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Sarah Hudson, Duke Dumont, Starrah, Paul Sledge, Maya Coles
When “Swish Swish” came out, fans speculated that it was Katy Perry’s response to Taylor Swift‘s “Bad Blood,” which was believed to be about Perry. The two friends had become foes, then later reconciled.
Your game is tired
You should retire
You’re ’bout as cute as
An old coupon expired
And karma’s not a liar
She keeps receipts
So keep calm, honey, I’ma stick around
For more than a minute, get used to it
Funny my name keeps comin’ out your mouth
‘Cause I stay winnin’, lay ’em up like
Released on Perry’s fifth album, Witness, “Swish Swish” also alludes to Minaj’s own beef with rapper Remy Ma—Pink Ferragamo sliders on deck / Silly rap beefs just get me more checks / My life is a movie, I’m never off set—in the opening verses.
Photo by Karwai Tang/Getty Images
