Nicki Minaj Reflects On “Kindred Spirit” Juice WRLD

Earlier this year, Nicki Minaj hit the road with Juice WRLD for their shared Nicki WRLD Tour overseas. Well after the tour was completed, Nicki hopped on Instagram Live to tease a collaborative track with the late artist, a song that has yet to see the light of day. During Nicki’s Women in Music speech at Billboard‘s event on Thursday, the Queen rapper recalled tender moments she shared with the 21-year-old Chicago artist.

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Nicki was being honored with the Game-Changer Award and used her time on stage to honor Juice WRLD. “I recently had the pleasure of working and touring with Juice WRLD,” she said. “I had a great conversation with him one day and while we walked to the stage he held my hand and told me to stay calm and to pray. He said he had been trying to do just that. I was shocked to hear him of all people tell me that, but right there in that moment with him telling me that, I actually did feel calm and I felt like, ‘Hm, what am I actually worried about?'”

“I felt like he was a kindred spirit, and looking back now, I wish I did something differently or said something to help,” Nicki added. “He spoke to me in detail about how in love he was with his girlfriend and how passionate he was about music. And when he was in the studio with me he did so many songs so quickly. He was honest and pure about what he felt and that inspired me.”

Nicki shared that she knew it was an event honoring women in music, but she didn’t feel comfortable talking about herself when “someone so important to our culture just died.” She sent her condolences to Juice WRLD’s loved ones before saying, “Drugs isn’t the problem, it’s the way we fix our problem. So, it’s so important that we don’t pass judgment so that people don’t feel ashamed to speak up and ask for help.” Check out a clip of Nicki’s Women in Music speech below.