Back in the day – 2014 – there was a big, omnipresent hit song called “Bang Bang.” It was everywhere, in commercials and TV shows and radios. It was a good song the first million times I heard it. I had actually been familiar with Jessie J before “Bang Bang” but that song really established her career here in mainstream America, likely because Jessie had two great collaborators on the song: Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. It was very girl-powery and everyone danced. Jessie recently did this interview with Glamour where she gave the background on how five of her most popular songs came to be. This is what she said about “Bang Bang.”
“Bang Bang” was a song that already existed. I didn’t write “Bang Bang.” Max Martin wrote “Bang Bang,” and Ariana had been played it, I’d been played it, and we both loved it. We just said, “Why don’t we both do it?” So Ariana stayed on the second verse, I recorded the first verse, and then Nicki was played it in the studio and was like, “I’ve got to jump on this.” We didn’t go to her and ask; she wanted to do it. I’ll never forget: I was in my bedroom in my flat in London, and I got sent the version with Nicki on it. I just sat at the end of my bed holding my phone, staring at the floor, going, “How the f–k did I land this?” I literally felt like I’d won a competition.
Let’s be honest: For as much as songs like that are my bag all day, every day, “Bang Bang” would have never done what it did without them. The gratitude I have and, honestly, the experience of girl power. Since “Moulin Rouge,” there hasn’t really been a big female song that’s come that’s really impacted like that. Me and Ari just spoke the other day, and I was like, “We should definitely do something together.” And she was like, “If we do, it has to be better than ‘Bang Bang.’” And I was like, “Well…” She was like, “I don’t know,” and I was like, “I don’t know.” Because it’s just one of those songs that just caught and went.
The three of us met for the first time at the video shoot, and the song was already number one the day we were shooting the video. Nicki was only there for an hour and a half, and we were just so giddy, all of us. I remember all of us being on set, and I remember us taking a selfie. I remember going, “I literally feel like I’m a fan in the back of the picture.” I just remember laughing. Ariana’s one of the funniest people ever. Our personalities and humor are super dry. We also were big-ing each other up! It was such a celebratory moment. All of us were just giggling and enjoying being around each other. It was great.
Even when we performed it [at the 2014 American Music Awards]. Ari wanted to do the chair thing. I wanted to be more free. I don’t love being choreographed. That’s why I walked down the seat aisles and picked people that I wanted to dance with, like Taylor [Swift] and Khloé Kardashian. We all put our own little personalities in there. I love working with them both. They’re so incredible, and they’ve both gone on to be two of the biggest artists in the world.
Jessie couldn’t have been nicer, more generous and more gracious to Ari and Nicki. She was truly grateful that they jumped onto the song and she gives them full credit for making the song the hit that it was. So why did Nicki feel the need to correct the record? Nicki wants people to know that she was asked to do the song:
Babe @JessieJ I didn’t hear the song & ask 2get on it. The label asked me2get on it & paid me. How would I have heard the song? 😩 chiiille what am I the damn song monitor? Snoopin around for songs chile?😂This was said by another artist recently as well. Yallgotta stop🎈 LoveU😘 pic.twitter.com/LShiO3wEm6
— BEAM ME UP SCOTTY MIXTAPE OUT NOW‼️🎀🦄♥️ (@NICKIMINAJ) August 6, 2021
Again, Jessie never claimed that Nicki begged to do the song – obviously some producer played Ariana and Jessie’s version for Nicki and asked Nicki to take part. Nicki is acting like Jessie was talking sh-t about her when Jessie was clearly honored to be involved with both Ari and Nicki. Ugh.
Update: Jessie wrote a lengthy note on her IG Stories, apologizing to Nicki for getting the background of the story wrong – Jessie says that she was told by a producer that Nicki wanted to do her part but it was probably just the producer “gassing her up” and she was too naive. Jessie does make it seem like she’s aware that there’s some kind of beef happening, or that she’s being targeted by the Barbz over something. I don’t know. I can’t keep track of all of Minaj’s beefs and maybe Jessie can’t either.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.
I loved Nicki when she first got on the scene but over the years she’s shown us who she really is, which is a gross person. It makes me sad that I can’t enjoy old bops without being like hey, this lady is trash to other women and defends rapists and pedophiles.
This. Some of her early songs were bops and she seemed so cool, turns out she’s a trash person and has always been trash. I just found out about the story of her stabbing a childhood playmate with a fork, because the girl told her rapping was her strong point, not singing. She’s just a ball of insecurity who could really use therapy.
NM is a horrible mean bully. She’s jealous of everybody. Just trash.
Man. I have put in serious effort to continue to stan Nicki over the years, but I just don’t have this energy in me anymore. Pandemic wore me out, lol.
Cardi B is problematic, andNicki stayed trying to sub her, even though it was obvious Nicki was streets ahead of Cardi B as an artist and she didn’t even need to bother. Nicki also definitely brought a cannon to a knife fight with Miley Cyrus as well at the VMAs. But those beefs? I got them. She paved the way for Cardi B and so many others, yet Cardi didn’t seem to genuinely give her respect until after the beef was quashed, and Miley was peak white splaining race issues when shutting up was totally free, and she was getting a major pass for her craziness at that time that wouldn’t have even gone to a woman of color in her position.
Nicki is one of the best lyricists out there. She writes all her own lyric (many don’t), and there are only a handful of artists that can go pound for pound with her flow and content and range. She power owned Kayne, Jay-Z and Rick Ross on Monster, and was so good Kanye actually kept it on the album. Nicki and Lil’ Wayne on the same track, she stands her ground. That is why it is just so crazy to me that Nicki, being the level that she is, keeps f*cking with these petty beefs.
It is just disappointing.
I do not get Nicki. She’s gorgeous, talented, and super wealthy. Yet she has to be the most miserable, bitter woman on the face of the planet. Rather than align herself with fans (like Jessie J!) and other women the only people she consistently defends are pedophiles and rapists. You hate to see it.
There is a whole media narrative that paints her as a villain which is largely based on bullshit. She is actually reputed to be a very sweet person, she just doesn’t back down from a fight. She also has constantly supported other female artists that walked her path throughout her career, but you’d never know it from the media coverage. Hell, she even donated to Amber Rose’s slut walk. She just doesn’t draw public attention to these things, except when she features someone on Queen radio or does a collab.
The pedophile narrative, imho, is to some degree also a byproduct of a narrative. I think she thought her brother was innocent for various reasons until it was clear he wasn’t, and we’ve given passes to others who had a hard time coming to grips with the fact that their relative/friend was abusive trash (Seth Rogan as concerns James Franco, Ben Affleck as concerns Casey, etc. etc.).
I get what you’re saying. TBH all of the people mentioned have both done garbage things and had garbage things directed at them that shouldn’t have been. This little cultural reset is past due in so many ways. The victim being attacked is a black woman too though, with less privilege than Nicki.
She is mean. Nicki is a mean, miserable nast person who has attacked her husbands rape victim. And had her “fans” go attack her as well.
Disgraceful.
I’ve heard that she’s been terrible also to staff on set (throwing glass objects at them), so I’m not a fan.
Aw man. I love Jessie J so much. She seems like a really kind person with an amazing voice. This story makes me sad. Kind of feels like Nicki is stirring up drama that isn’t there.
That’s all I got.
i hope jessie doesnt respond
She did – super nice and self-deprecating for getting the story wrong. Per usual for Jessie. She didn’t have to but that’s who she is.
Nicki needs to pick and choose her battles. Raging bout every little thing just isn’t a good look. Jessie couldn’t have been nicer and she may not have been aware of the details on Nicki’s end. Nicki had a bit of nice press courtesy of Jessie, but just sh*ts all over it.
Nicki just always seems to assume bad intent doesn’t she? Jessi could not have been more humble and enthusiastic about Nicki’s contribution. Nicki is being negative, rude and off-putting, as per usual.
Someone cue up Tabitha Brown’s Wendy Williams sermon please. This woman needs love in her life. Chill out Nikki! So insufferable.
Nicki’s followers are acting like Jessie said Nicki was begging her to be on the song and Jessie graciously gave permission or something, so they’re laughing about how Nicki “totally destroyed her”. Which if that’s how she had phrased it I could understand the response, but this is so weird, Jessie only even mentioned it to say how surreal it was and how lucky she felt that someone of Nicki’s magnitude wanted to be on a song of hers.
I think Nicki is rude about most things, isn’t she? She always seems to be a mean girl, and this is no exception. Jessie said such nice things and this is such a rotten response for no reason.
She’s always rude af. And she makes up her own rules about what’s right depending on her own circumstances.
After getting involved with the person she’s still with, I’m done with her.
Not that I ever began.
Not a Nikki fan, AT ALL. However, if It didn’t happen the way Jessie said/thought than how is Nikki the bad guy (in this instance) for correcting her? I didn’t read it as raging or dragging Jessie either.
She’s going after Jessie multiple times on Twitter and in IG comments it seems. Even if she wanted to just clear it up, a single simple tweet would have sufficed given how complimentary the original story is.
I used to be a huge fan of Nicki. Still love her early work.
Ok, I don’t follow Nikki bc I don’t care for her, but this makes sense now.
this 💯
She corrected her in a way that implied she was chasing clout when she could have very well just misremembered. That being said, Jessie J’s apology to her was kinda whack, in my opinion.
I like this song – it was an ear worm and was everywhere, as you point out, so it was partially self defense to learn to like the song rather than run screaming from every CVS and gas station for three months – but must we keep pretending that sex = empowerment? Every time? Especially a song that lightly denigrates other women? Yuck. I’m so sick of that being the cultural message.
Jessie J sounds like a nice person. Nicki sounds like she wants attention.
When you’re a bad person with bad motives you ASSUME everyone else is. I loved Nik but she is def trash now and has been for a bit.
Nicki is the worst. That’s all I got!
OMG, I was reading Jessie’s words, waiting for the bit where she’s dissing Nicki or being awful and she doesn’t and it was so refreshing to see something positive and affirming. Nicki is a disappointing person.
Insecure person being insecure.
I’d prefer the song without Nicki’s rap segment – nothing against rap, huge fan of hip hop actually, but the forced rap verse in sooo many pop songs does nothing but detract from it – especially this song!
Nicki suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks
This song has made its way back into my current playlist and honestly Nicki is the weakest part of it.
Nicki isn’t known for smart decisions; after all she married & had a baby with a rapist/felon/child molester. What must it take to like in such loud outrage ALL THE TIME. She needs a long nap, long bath, long massage & healthy meal.
I actually don’t really like this song all that much and I find Ariana Grande’s vocals overrated. However Jessie J is a powerhouse singer and deserves all the love. Nicki Minaj is a talented rapper mostly for her speed, it’s unbelievable how fast she raps. But she isn’t the brightest bulb and has made some questionable decisions in the last few years.
Agree about Ariana Grande. Not impressed.
I literally do t understand what NM Twitter means. What does Chile have to do with any of this?! I’m glad this site can translate Twitter for me because I just don’t understand what these celebs are saying at all. It gives me a headache. Nicki just sucks and hasn’t been relevant since 2012 and needs to go away.
It’s AAVE for “child”. You hear it a lot in the South (southern United States) especially among older Black women. One of my daughters is saying it a lot right now too. LOL!
My grandmother used to say it all the time. It has nothing to do with the country of Chile.
ETA: I am not a Nicki fan. I found her comments to be uncalled for and mean-spirited.
I assumed it means “chill” 🙈 because it seemed the closest in terms of pronunciation to me—ESL/european
Nicki is super problematic. But I can kinda see why she’d be annoyed about this statement. The “we didn’t ask her” like we didn’t really want her but then let her join in. The random “Nicki was only there for 1.5.hours” and then gushing about Ariana’s personality but not Nicki’s. Then the performance paragraph which doesn’t even mention Nicki. It just sits weird and extra weird because of the race dynamics. Idk. I can see why Nicki would be upset.
I agree. The whole excerpt rubbed me the wrong way….it seemed like Jessie J was intentionally trying to diminish Nikki’s contribution to the song AND the performance its all “me and Ari” Despite Nikki’s fault, I always find it telling when commenters on this site are ready with knives out to attack some women. Also, why did she go out of her way to mention that Nikki was not asked to be on it??? Its such a shame that Nikki is being bashed like this when her tweet wasnt even disrespectful or rude.
Even with being asked to do it she could have said no, so what exactly is her point here?
The Related Stories section at the bottom of the page is all articles about celebrities cutting their bangs. Lol. I love it.
Nicki is horrible and is always lashing out “checking” someone. its unattractive and petty as hell.
This! If you’re always lashing out at everyone, then maybe you’re the problem lol
I love Nicki as a rapper. I think she’s incredibly talented. But as a person? She’s an a$$hole. And has been for years.
I used to enjoy her music but she is such a trash person that I cant listen to it anymore. Is there someone she doesn’t beef with?? When JLo had the Giuseppe Zanotti collab, she complained about not having one too (??’) Sorry but JLo is class and glamor while you’re just rapist apologist trash Nicki!
Poor Jessie J!
Well, if this isn’t the perfect example of how White women passive-aggressively dismiss a Black woman then I don’t know what is.
I bet $1000 that the people calling Nicki trash and mean and egotistical are not Black and therefore would never understand how entirely demeaning Jessie’s comments were. She said:
1). Nicki asked to be on the track which, for A Black artist like Nicki, could damage her reputation. Translated to “oh, she even has to beg to be on sh*t, she’s not equally as important as the White singers”. That’s not complimentary, guys. Like, AT ALL
2). Jessie said Nicki was there for only 1.5 hrs but neglected to tell us how many hours the others spent which insinuates that Nicki was a Diva who couldn’t even bother to mingle with the plebs
3). She mentioned the award show setting and how she and Ariana conceptualised their act but didn’t include Nicki. We are left to imagine that either Nicki was being a diva for not checking in with them or Nicki’s work ethic isn’t at par with theirs.
Lastly, Nicki’s response was entirely on point and went to the root of Jessie’s comments which made Nicki out to be someone latching on to their coattails. Not only that, she is now being made out to be a diva and called names on this very site because a Black woman deigned to defend herself. These scenarios are dangerous to us and White people must think before speaking to issues they aren’t really well versed in.
We live with White women tears, their micro-aggression, their non-stop ridicules and therefore should be allowed enough grace to respond however we see fit.
Thank you. It didn’t sit right with me but I couldn’t articulate it well! 100% agree with your comments.
Yeah. Nicki only initially acquired her “villain” persona because she used her voice to stand up for herself in a sea of misogynoir, when a man would have been considered a boss for the same thing. Until recently, in her genre of music there was seemingly only ever one major successful female artist, and so the media coverage anytime she had a beef became a Nicki vs. women thing, and when it was a white woman the coverage was insanely awful, everything from dog whistles, suggesting she know her place, using bad comparison photos of her vs. the person on the other side, etc. etc. It all adds up after a while.
A lot of people today use the fact that she initially supported her brother as a basis to claim she supports pedophiles, but honestly, what did she do there? She posted his bond, paid his legal fees and wrote a letter on his behalf while she thought he was innocent. He had no priors for child or sex abuse, he protected her and her mom from abuse when she was young, and the victims mother tried to extort cash from Nicki before the case began. I can see where she would have thought he was innocent, and once it became obvious that he was not, I don’t remember anything from her supporting him from that point forward. Yet, everyone still uses that as a way to couch their criticism to make it “ok”.
Jessie J though? I don’t know why Nicki even bothered with this particular beef to the extent she did. Although, when I read Jessie J’s “apology” I could see it being more that Nicki just simply didn’t like her. I know the apology didn’t sit right with me, it just came off as being even more dismissive.
Either way, sorry for writing a novel, I love Nicki and it is damn hard to find a commenter that doesn’t hate her on here these days.
Her brother RAPED repeatedly, an 11 years old girl and kept threatening her younger brother if he tells anything. What kind of a person suppirts ANYONE through these accusations? His case went to trial, those cases go to trial only with really, really firm evidence-and she supported him during the investigation at oeat. So she knew what he was accused of and continued to financially support him!
And the extortion story? Completely false. It was a way to try and defend the brother and humiliate the victom with claiming and placing that story in media.
No one is disputing he is guilty or what he did is terrible. What I’m saying is Nicki clearly thought he was innocent when this first went down for a variety of reasons. From what I’ve read, once it was clear he was guilty, that support went away. She never testified on his behalf in his trial, never visited him in jail, never made another supportive post about him after the very first one when the story had just broken. All his lawyers had was a letter from her written years prior, before the victim testified and before he was convicted.
Reese continued to post pics and otherwise support her brother years after he was arrested for trying to rape his neighbor. Ben Affleck is still going strong after continuing to stand by his brother after his repeated sexual harassment of women. Nicki adored her older brother, thought he was innocent, tried to support him and it blew up in her face in a major way.
Everyone uses that support as a way to sanitize the way they talk about her, when they call her “trash”, among other things. I agree with Bibi when she says these comments and this approach is more evidence of how quickly folks move to denigrate black women.
THIS!! ALL OF THIS!! People here real quick to denegrate Nikki but I read Jessie J explanation as Nikki jumping on their bandwagon. She right to set that ish right!!
I used to like nicki her old music was awesome but she’s shown that she’s just so miserable and rude and a bully. Sorry not sorry
I’m glad more and more people are seeing what a rotten person Nicki truly is. Jessie did not say anything wrong or offensive and had nothing to apologize for. Nicki has talent, but she has an even bigger ego and is so unlikeable. I don’t know why her fans ride so hard for her.
LOL, nobody can accuse Nicki Minaj of being duplicitous, that’s for certain. She tells you exactly what she thinks every time.
I suspect this one is about reputation. She doesn’t want to be seen as somebody “begging” to be on a record and set it straight what happened. Nice, no, but that’s never been her reputation.
Honestly, I do not have one single problem with any black woman in a bad humor these days. Only in recent years have I started maybe feeling in my white bones just how much they have had to f-ing FIGHT for everything they have. I am sitting down.
Wow, you really get it! I wish more women on tis thread were as self aware and honest as you are. Jessie J knew exactly what she was doing with those initial comments and if most people just calmed down and read between the lines before hurling all manner of insults and calling Nikki all kinds of names, they maybe would see what is really happening. It used to be like this for Beyonce on this site for a while there too.
Jessie J’s response was…. very cringe. And how the hell did she just now find out that Ariana co-wrote the song? As a public figure, know your facts before answering if you’re being interviewed. Simple as that.
The song was everywhere and the song sucked. It lacked the talent, lyrics, joy, and coolness to even compare to both “Ladies Night remix” and “Moulin Rouge”. Nicki is a horrible person, married to a rapist, fully supported her pedophile racist brother during the entire trial, etc; having said that, I will agree that era of music Nicki was the go-to female rapper. People were going to her to do tracks. On the first pass, I don’t think Jessie J was devaluing Nicki. Nicki went hard because she’s a nasty bitter shrew. Jessie J’s apology reads as bewildered because it appears that Nicki went in over semantics.
Look – Nicki is a bad b**tch and Jessica J’s comments about this how long after this song was released was only looking for publicity. Like her comments really does make it sound like Nicki was TRYING to get on the song …. Why would Jessy even say that in the first place?