Keeping up with Nicki Minaj over the last 24 hours has been a whirlwind, to say the least.Ā Is Nicki Minaj dropping an album in 2026? That was her plan, although her latest tweets seem to imply thatās no longer happening. Is this all some big publicity stunt? And what does Jay-Z have to do with all of this? Hereās what we know.
Last month, Minaj announced that her sixth studio album would be released on March 27, 2026 as a follow-up to her 2023 album, Pink Friday 2. She has since excitedly reminded fans of the upcoming release in social media posts, most recently on Oct. 14 when she said the album will be āa gem you cherish forever.ā But everything took a turn less than 12 hours later when Minaj seemed to revoke the album release ā and new music altogether ā in an X post signed off with āBye Barbz.āĀ
The post seemed to be directed at Jay-Z, tagging his personal X profile page. In another post just minutes before, Nicki claimed that Jay-Zās entertainment company, Roc Nation, has been begging her to record an album and go on tour under their name, which she said she turned down. Her Campus reached out to Roc Nation for comment on Minajās posts but didnāt hear back by the time of publication.
Another cryptic post in the flurry of updates seemed to imply that ātheyā ā supposedly Roc Nation ā are trying to keep her, and other artists, from releasing new music.Ā Ā
Some of Minajās previous posts have directly targeted the CEO of Roc Nation, Desiree Perez. āDesiree Perez, your time is up,ā Minaj posted on Oct. 2. Her Campus reached out to Perezās team for comment but didnāt hear back.
There is no confirmed connection between Minaj and Roc Nation, as the rapper is currently signed to Republic Records/Universal Music Group. Some fans believe Minajās tweets could be related to claims sheās made that Jay-Zās music streaming service, Tidal, owes her $100-200 million related to her stake in the company after it was sold to Square in 2021. Her Campus reached out to Tidal for comment on Minajās claim, but didnāt hear back by the time of publication.
Minajās loyal Barbz were immediately active in her comments, begging her to reconsider and attempting to reason with her. Minaj is often interactive with fans in her comment threads.Ā
Fans may just have to wait for Minajās return to X for any further confirmation. Her page has been silent since her last post on Oct. 15, which didnāt seem to clear things up very much. Maybe āends up straight,ā means weāre still on track for the album? Letās hope so.Ā
The original post announcing the new album on Sept. 24 is still pinned at the top of her feed, which is promising. Whether it was all just a misunderstanding or not, hopefully fans can still expect new Minaj music come March.Ā