If there’s one reason people seem to be skeptical about Nicki Minaj’s relationship with Meek Mill, it’s because of her more than decade-long relationship with ex-boyfriend, Safaree Samuels. Minaj entered the industry with Samuels by her side. But for most of the years that we saw them together, she pretended he was just her hype man, an occasional producer, and somewhat like an assistant to her. Samuels seemed okay with playing his position in the background for the first few years. But as he shared with The Breakfast Club in January, being kept in the shadows as her hype man eventually put a damper on their relationship.
“I used to be like, there’s no way people really don’t know. And if you don’t know it’s like you either want to be naive because you’re stupid, or you’re living in a fairy world. I just never understood that…It was to the point where if we go out, I can’t put my arm around you, I can’t hold your hand. I’m an affectionate dude! I like to have my arm around my chick. I want to be outside and be like, ‘I’m with my chick!’ I don’t want to have to be walking a couple steps behind you or a couple steps away from you and acting like you’re not my girl. After a while, that can put a strain on somebody. That definitely did something to me.”
So what’s with all the lovey-dovey displays with Meek? In a new interview with GQ, Minaj stated that for some time, she had planned to be open about her love life, but only after the release of her third album. She just so happened to be with someone else by the time The Pinkprint came out:
“Together, I think one of the biggest misconceptions at the beginning was that people thought that me and him just popped up out of the blue and were just in a relationship. We were friends for a very long time and he was someone that I was able to really confide in. Nothing that we do is for TV. My decision to be public about my relationship came before I even met Meek. I was in another relationship and I said after I drop my third album that I don’t care anymore what people think. I’m going to be vocal about who I’m with. It just so happens that I’m with a new guy. When I came in the business, you couldn’t tell people you were in a relationship, because record company and management said that doesn’t make you appealing to men. So don’t tell people you’re in a relationship. So after you do that for ten years it becomes something you feel like you have to do. It’s difficult to break out of that box. So I just vowed to myself, ‘look, I’m about to put out a new album, I don’t care anymore.’ It just so happens I’m in a new relationship but I was planning on doing that before I was with Meek, because now it’s to the point where it’s different. The music industry is so different. People don’t care if you’re in a relationship, but in the beginning it wasn’t like that. Take Janet Jackson. People didn’t know she was married for nine years or something like that. It was a taboo thing in the beginning. I didn’t want to hide that side of my life anymore.”
Could being more open and honest with the public about her relationship with Samuels possibly have saved it? It’s plausible. Especially since he said it made him feel some kind of way. Plus, most people who saw them together knew that he had to be much more than a friend. But at this point, that ship has long sailed, and Minaj is riding off into the sunset on the back of a motorbike with Mr. Mill. And I’m still here, sitting behind a computer, scratching my head at their attempts to convince us that they’re not just doing it for the ‘gram…
Check out Minaj and Meek Mill’s full interview over at GQ and share your thoughts.
