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Summer-jam

Hot 97 Summer Jam is a concert festival held by the radio station Hot 97 FM where multiple artists perform on stage. The 2012 concert was held on June 3 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Nicki Minaj was supposed to perform at the concert, but after the station's host, Peter Rosenberg, dissed her "Starships" track Lil Wayne decides to cancel her performance and all other Young Money artists' performance.[1]

Lineup[]

Nicki Minaj was the headline of the festival. The official line-up includes:

The Pre-show Summer Jam Festival Village stage artists line-up:

  • A$AP Rocky
  • Azealia Banks
  • Pusha T
  • Kendrick Lamar
  • Schoolboy Q
  • Big KRIT
  • Fred the Godson
  • B Martin
  • Brown Sugar

Cancellation of Minaj's performance[]

The night when Nicki Minaj and other Young Money artists were scheduled to perform, Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg said, live from the 2012 Summer Jam stage, that Nicki Minaj had better not perform that "wack ass Starships" track.

Minutes afterward, Lil Wayne and the Young Money crew landed their private G5 jet in Teterboro, New Jersey, when he heard the diss. Wayne told all the artists not to perform in light of Rosenberg's remarks. Wayne confirmed minutes later tweeting: “Young Money ain't doing summer jam.”[2] Minaj, who had tweeted earlier in the night that she was going to make history with her set, agreed with her mentor: "Wow. U n*ggaz just fucked up history. But the President has spoken. #YMCMB"[3]. She later tweeted: "I go above and beyond for my fans. But won't ever go against wayne's word. What he says, goes."[4]

Fellow Young Money artist Jae Millz tweeted on the incident, saying "Radio personality with NO personality... f--- n---a!!! & u ain't even black..."[5] Minaj responded to his tweet, adding "Not blak but on blak radio dissin blak women."[6]

Minaj confirmed via Twitter that her full list of special guests included Cam'ron, 2 Chainz, Nas, Lauryn Hill, Beenie Man, Foxy Brown, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Tyga, Jae Millz, and Gudda Gudda.[7][8] Wayne and Young Money confirmed that they would take the stage if Rosenberg apologized, but since he did not, the set was cancelled. Special guests Nas and Lauryn Hill performed a very short set without Minaj, while the rest of the performers did not take stage.

Hotel party[]

Although Nicki and most of her special guests did not perform, they had a party back at the hotel to celebrate anyway. Minaj and her friend tweeted the following pictures:

Aftermath[]

Further controversy at Summer Jam[]

In place of Nicki Minaj's set, Rosenberg's fellow Hot 97 DJ, Funkmaster Flex, filled the rest of the time in the Summer Jam performance. During his performance, he taunted that he was "dedicated to tearing [Minaj] down." Flex also added that "We ain’t fuckin' with commercial rappers no more. If you lost the fuckin' streets, it’s your fault."[9] He later said he'd have Minaj on his program the following night, telling fans, "[t]une in to me tomorrow at 7 o'clock. I'm gonna ruin a career."[10]

Positive response[]

But to reject “Starships” is to reject the idea of hip-hop as a big tent with room for multiple ideas and micromovements and polarities. That creates the sort of boundary designed to discourage outsiders, innovation and difference. It is the kind of tactic once deployed to keep hip-hop as a whole at arm’s length from the mainstream.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times

Many showed support for Minaj and Wayne's choice to not take to the stage. Lauryn Hill supported Minaj as an artist who "[walks] with integrity" and for standing by her beliefs.[11] Hill also noted that she was not supposed to perform with Minaj; Minaj cleared things up and said that "Nas was coming out on my set, [Hill] was coming out [to] perform [with] him."[12] Jon Caramanica of the New York Times said that "Starships" was undeniably dance pop, but noted the importance of not boxing in hip hop into preset boundaries. Caramanica went on to say that losing the special lineup in Minaj's set was ultimately the biggest punishment for Rosenberg, who portrayed himself as a hip hop purist.[13]

Funkmaster Flex debate[]

When you invite someone to your home you treat them with respect. Wayne gave me a very, very valuable lesson last night on knowing my worth.
—Nicki Minaj

The day after Summer Jam, Minaj called in to the evening show of DJ Funkmaster Flex to clear the air about the incident. Minaj was confident in Wayne's decision to pull out of the festival, saying that disrespecting her was disrespecting her fans, as well as learning a lesson from the experience about her self worth.[14] Minaj revealed on the program that she would give a free concert for all of her fans that didn't get to see her in New York. She later confirmed on Twitter about her comment.[15]

Rosenberg interview[]

Almost a year later on May 28, 2013, Minaj met with Rosenberg at the HOT 97 studios. She revealed that she was particularly offended at Rosenberg's comments because she did not believe he had enough experience to criticize her, but that in retrospect she would have still performed despite his comment. She called the entire incident "water under the bridge."[16]

References[]

  1. "Peter Rosenberg Disses Nicki Minaj, YMCMB Pulls Out From Summer Jam." Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  2. Carter, Dwayne. (@LilTunechi). "Young Money ain't doing summer jam." Tweet. Retrieved Jun 3, 2012
  3. Maraj, Onika. (@NICKIMINAJ). "Wow. U n*ggaz just fucked up history. But the President has spoken. ‪#YMCMB‬." Tweet. Retrieved June 3, 2012
  4. Maraj, Onika.(@NICKIMINAJ). "I go above and beyond for my fans. But won't ever go against wayne's word. What he says, goes." Tweet. Retrieved June 3, 2012
  5. Mills, Jarvis. (@JAE_MILLZ). "Radio personality with NO personality... fuck n*gga!!! & u ain't even black... But u still a FUCK N*GGA!!" Tweet. Retrieved June 3, 2012
  6. Maraj, Onika. (@NICKIMINAJ). "Not blak but on blak radio dissin blak women > RT @JAE_MILLZ Radio personality with NO personality... fuck n*gga!!! & u ain't even black..." Tweet. Retrieved June 3, 2012
  7. Maraj, Onika. (@NICKIMINAJ). "Camron,2chainz,Nas,LaurynHill,BeenieMan,FoxyBrown,LilWayne,Birdman,Tyga,JaeMillz,GuddaGudda." Tweet. Accessed June 3, 2012.
  8. Natasha. "Lil Wayne CANCELS Nicki Minaj's Summer Jam HEADLINING Performance, Tells ALL Young Money DON'T GO After Hot 97 Host's Diss!" Retrieved June 3, 2012
  9. Rap-Up.com. "Funkmaster Flex Disses Nicki Minaj at Summer Jam." Accessed June 5, 2012.
  10. Kuperinsky, Amy. The Star Ledger. "Funkmaster Flex confronts Nicki Minaj about Summer Jam." Accessed June 5, 2012.
  11. Hill, Lauryn. (@MsLaurynHill). "No disrespect to Nicki, but I need to clear up an inaccuracy. I was not scheduled to be a special guest on her (cont) http://tl.gd/hmp216 ." June 4, 2012. 1:49 PM. Tweet.
  12. Maraj, Onika. (@NICKIMINAJ). "Thank u Lauryn. Nas was coming out on my set, u were coming out 2 perform w/him. That was within my set that was going 2 continue w/foxy." June 4, 2012. 2:16 PM. Tweet.
  13. Caramanica, Jon. New York Times. "Nicki Minaj Skips Festival After a D.J.’s Remarks." Accessed June 4, 2012.
  14. Rap-Up.com. "Nicki Minaj Calls into Funkmaster Flex to Address Summer Jam Cancellation." Accessed June 5, 2012.
  15. Maraj, Onika. (@NICKIMINAJ). "Working out the details for my show in NY this summer u guys. My babies will be good. The love was so real and its so reciprocated. Trust." June 4, 2012. 1:06 PM. Tweet.
  16. HOT97NY. "Nicki Minaj vs Rosenberg Face to Face!!" Retrieved May 28, 2013.
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