Is Nicki Minaj about to pull off the hat trick? She took Doja Cat’s “Say So” to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and gave Tekashi 6ix9ine his first-ever No. 1 with “TROLLZ.” Now, she has reunited with A$AP Ferg for “Move Ya Hips,” a song that also features rapper MadeInTYO. The song arrived on July 30, much to the delight of Barbz everywhere.
This collaborative effort features clever verses over a sinister beat, which could’ve easily served as the background music for a Friday the 13th film — adding extra thrill to this track! The chorus is also undeniably catchy, thanks to the vocals of MadeInTYO. That’s no surprise, given that he’s the mastermind behind the anthem of 2015: “Uber Everywhere.” The song also arrived with a visualizer styled after an ’80s aerobics workout infomercial, which you can watch above.
Nicki and Ferg previously worked on a remix of his 2017 single, “Plain Jane.” The lead single from his Still Striving mixtape is his highest-charting song to date, and Nicki referenced their collab in a snippet of “Move Ya Hips” that DJ Clue teased in May, per Rap-Up. Nicki’s longtime collaborator shared a teaser of the then-untitled track during an Instagram Live sessions, and fans heard Nicki (as her alter ego Harujuki Barbie) rap, “Straight from out of Queens, headed to Harlem now / I got the panda mink on and it’s brawlin’ now / Already bodied ‘Plain Jane’ and we mobbin’ now / That’s ’cause all these fake ni**as try to rob our style.” The song was so hot, fans — including A$AP Rocky — begged for its release. “SUMBODY TELL @ASAPferg 2 DROP DAT SHIT WIT HIM N NICKI ASAP,” Rocky tweeted.
“Move Ya Hips” marks Nicki’s first new music since announcing that she’s pregnant. She shared the news that she and husband Kenneth “Zoo” Petty are expecting on July 19 by posting a picture of her bare bump to Instagram. “#Preggers,” she captioned the shot by Alex “Grizz” Loucas, who also photographed her (and her bump) in a variety of colorful outfits. Nicki also took part in a photoshoot with David LaChapelle, presenting herself as a divine goddess while posing in all-white. Judging by the size of her stomach, Nicki has been sitting on this pregnancy secret for a while, but a source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that she shared the news of her baby with “trusted” friends, like Tekashi 6ix9ine.
“The pictures that Nicki put out were taken over a month ago, this whole announcement was very well planned,” the source added. “Nicki has had a good pregnancy, she’s healthy and has been enjoying her time nesting with [Kenneth] at their home in Beverly Hills. This is a very happy time for Nicki, she’s so proud and excited to be having Ken’s baby.”
Though 6ix9ine has recently embraced the “snitch” title, he kept his mouth shut on Nicki’s pregnancy. He owes Nicki quite a lot since she (practically) helped him get to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The influence (and buying power) of the Barbz, Nicki’s fanbase, is legendary and her appearance on “TROLLZ” resulted in the track debuting at the No. 1 spot. However, “TROLLZ” didn’t have any longevity to it. In its second week, it fell to No. 34, the biggest fall for a debuting No. 1 in history, per Forbes. It continued to plummet, hitting No. 54 in week 3 (right above “GOOBA,” 6ix9ine’s first song since he was released from prison), and in week 4, it had fallen to No. 83. Five weeks after debuting at No. 1, “TROLLZ” was off the Billboard Hot 100, along with “YAYA,” the Spanish-language song Tekashi released on July 3. “GOOBA” was on its way out, finishing the week of July 25 at the No. 100 spot.