50 Cent Weighs In On Nicki Minaj’s “Barbie Dreams”

Nicki Minaj’s playful track “Barbie Dreams” is a highlight from her new album Queen, as it finds her imagining sexual encounters with some of the biggest names in hip-hop. It’s the latest twist on The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 song “Just Playing (Dreams),” in which he fantasizes about sex with R&B singers. Another artist who’s remade Biggie’s song is 50 Cent with 1999’s “How to Rob,” and the Queens rapper recently weighed in with his opinion about “Barbie Dreams.”

“I did a song called ‘How to Rob’ that she said was an inspiration for it. It brings everyone in the culture that is relevant at the time because they’re on her mind when she’s writing the music,” 50 told Extra. “To get it from a reverse perspective, it’s cool to see that women in hip-hop have come to a point where they can do it their way.”

As 50 mentioned, Nicki cited “How to Rob” as an inspiration during an appearance on Hot 97. “I wanna shoutout 50 because… he inspired that record so much,” she said. “That’s why it’s the first person I say on the song.”

Nicki actually mentions several rappers on the first verse before name-dropping 50 and referencing his Starz TV series Power:

I tried to fuck 50 for a powerful hour
But all that nigga wanna do is talk Power for hours

Shortly after Queen’s release, 50 Cent complimented Nicki about the song on Twitter. “South Side stand up the bitch,” he wrote. “Nicki Minaj is really a problem. Out here killing shit.”

It’s worth noting that “How to Rob” seemed to take a more serious tone than “Just Playing (Dreams)” and “Barbie Dreams.” At the time, 50 was trying to build some buzz for his debut album Power of the Dollar.

On the song, the G-Unit leader imagined robbing over 40 rappers, singers, actors, and other public figures with connections to the hip-hop world, and many people didn’t see the humor in 50’s words. Mariah Carey complained to Columbia, where they were both signed at the time, and rappers such as JAY-Z, Big Pun, and Raekwon all took shots at 50.

For the most part, rappers have taken “Barbie Dreams” in stride and haven’t leveled any serious shots her way. Genius broke down the track in a video:

Read all the verified lyrics to Nicki Minaj’s “Barbie Dreams” on Genius now.