In a night where MTV’s Video Music Awards went all out to highlight hip-hop, the genre’s queen rightfully took home the most important prize. At Tuesday’s show (September 12), Nicki Minaj was awarded the trophy for the Best Hip-Hop category at the VMAs for her August 2022 song “Super Freaky Girl.”
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Beating out songs like “Gotta Move On” by Diddy, Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, and Yung Miami; “STAYING ALIVE” by DJ Khaled, Drake, and Lil Baby; “Tomorrow 2” by GloRilla and Cardi B; “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert; “Kant Nobody” by Lil Wayne, DMX, and Swizz Beatz; and Metro Boomin and Future’s “Superhero,” Minaj offered many thanks during her speech.
“Hi you guys. You guys, thank you so much. You know what? So often, I joke around and play around and stuff, but I don’t know why, this morning when I woke up I had this really strong sense of gratitude,” she said. “That’s the truth. So I just want to say, I thank you guys, the people who go out and support, the people who never skip a beat on the internet and [are] helping hold us down, the people who are at the tours. I just want to thank you guys. MTV, thank you for showcasing rap and thank you for showing me love.”
However, before finishing, Minaj briefly contemplating letting things get a bit messy. Though she did not specify who she wanted to call out, Minaj mentioned that she had an inkling to diss somebody.
“And you know what?” she abruptly said. “Should I be mean right now or should I be nice? Mean? *gestures to one side of crowd* Nice? *Gestures to other side*”
Ultimately, though, Minaj decided to let cooler heads prevail, shouting out the phrase “Barbie bitch!” before exiting the stage.
[RELATED: Nicki Minaj Unveils the Cover Art for ‘Pink Friday 2’]
Earlier in the night, Minaj served as one of the VMAs’ emcees, as well as giving a standout performance. On top of singing along to her latest single “Last Time I Saw You,” the now-40-year-old singer-rapper also debuted an unreleased, untitled track for the show’s attendees.
The song will likely land on the track list for Minaj’s upcoming fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2, set to release in November. And, along with promotional singles like the aforementioned “Last Time I Saw You” and “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” from March, Minaj’s huge night at the VMAs will surely add even more excitement for fans going into the LP, which will be her first full-length release in over five years.
Check out clips from Minaj’s performance and speech below.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV
