DJ Drama Still Feels ‘Terrible’ For Removing Nicki Minaj’s Verse Off His ‘Gangsta Grillz’ Tape w/ Gucci Mane

DJ Drama, Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane

DJ Drama Still Feels ‘Terrible’ For Removing Nicki Minaj’s Verse Off His ‘Gangsta Grillz’ Tape w/ Gucci Mane

DJ Drama feels bad for an uncomfortable decision he had to make in the past regarding the “Queen of Rap.”

In a recent interview on “The Bootleg Kev Podcast,” DJ Drama was caught off guard after he was asked if he removed Nicki Minaj’s verse off his first mixtape with Gucci Mane, born Radric Delantic Davis, 43, in the early 2000s because she wasn’t “poppin’” in hip-hop yet.

Although DJ Drama was seemingly uncomfortable with the question, he was candid and shared:

“We actually did one with Yo Gotti first. It was called ‘Definition Of A G.’ That was the first tape me and Gucci had did together. It was a collaboration, Gotti, Gucci and me. The first official Gucci Mane ‘Gangsta Grillz’ was called ‘The Movie.’ When he brought it to me the first song that was for the tape, the first voice you heard on the tape was Nicki Minaj.”

He added:

“Obviously, this is an early Nicki Minaj,”

DJ Drama

Nicki Minaj, real name Onika Maraj-Petty, started gaining recognition in the industry between 2007 and 2009 after releasing three mixtapes. Drama, 44, continued:

“And disrespectfully, I felt like we can’t have a ‘Gangsta Grillz’ with me and Gucci and the first voice you hear not be Gucci. So I removed her verse from that song, I feel terrible ‘til this day.”

Drama, real name Tyree Simmons, also shared that Nicki Minaj may not know that it was his decision to take her off of the mixtape but he did what he could to make it up to her anyway. 

“In defense, I will say that I made sure out of everyone, that Nicki Minaj was on ‘Dedication 3’ because Nicki Minaj was about to get left off of ‘Dedication 3.’ She was calling me directly saying ‘Dram, please don’t let the tape come out without me on there.’ and I said ‘I got you.’ So Nicki Minaj is on ‘Dedication 3’ directly because I made sure she was on there.”

From the early 2000s to now, Nicki has been considered a rap legend in the industry, and her accolades show for it.

As previously reported, she recently returned from a three-month social media hiatus and surprised the Barbz with a new track “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” a sample over Lumidee’s 2003 song “Never Leave You – Uh Ooh.” Earlier this month, the 40-year-old artist also announced on Queen Radio that she now has her own record label. Artists such as Nana Fofie, London Hill,  Tate Kobang, and Rico Danna have been signed to the label.

Nicki Minaj

A few days after announcing her accomplishments, a clip of a 30-second audio live stream with Nicki Minaj, her friend/reality star Rah Ali, and media personality Milagro Gramz went viral on Twitter. During their conversation, Nicki alleged that record labels are compensating people on social media to throw dirt on her name. She said:

“Labels and management companies paying for viral tweets and paying for Nicki diss tweets and all the – so now it’s kind of like, if I don’t remind them that we’re actually here to rap, who will?”

The mother of one demanded that her name not be in the same sentence as other rappers. She added: 

“And then on top of that, don’t ever put me in the same m*therf*cking sentence, you know. You know don’t use my name -.”

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What are your thoughts on DJ Drama axing Nicki Minaj’s verse off of “Gangsta Grillz?” Tell us below.