Although Nicki Minaj isn’t the main artist listed on “Fefe,” her single with Tekashi 6ix9ine and Murda Beatz, she’s adding the song as track 20 on her latest album Queen, and it certainly looks like a ploy to boost album sales and debut at No. 1 on the charts.
Billboard announced on Wednesday that “Fefe” has been officially tacked on as the final track on Queen. Speaking to Tidal on Tuesday night, Minaj did not necessarily give an explanation for the decision, but she did confirm it was happening. According to Complex, Nicki said during the interview: “We added ‘Fefe.’ Shout out to my baby Tekashi. I love him. Because of streaming, we can update the albums.” On some level, I can see how Minaj may have to say something like that to show support for her upcoming tour mate 6ix9ine, but it still rings profoundly out-of-touch, given the fact that 6ix9ine has been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. He pleaded guilty to charges of using a child in a sexual performance, as part of a plea agreement, which the rapper has since violated.
A similar recent example of this is Kanye West, who endlessly tweaked with his album The Life of Pablo after its release. In Minaj’s case, “Fefe” wasn’t originally featured on Queen, and the single had been out since late July of this year. Notably, the song has ranked higher on the Billboard Hot 100 chart than her last three singles.
At any rate, this is probably good news for Queen, which is in a close race for No. 1 on the charts this week with Travis Scott’s AstroWorld, according to analysts who spoke to Billboard.
Correction: A previous version of this post failed to mention that 6ix9ine pleaded guilty to use of a child in a sexual performance in 2015.