Nicki Minaj's original verse to Kanye West's “Monster” leaked online

Nicki Minaj's verse on “Monster” is legendary. She impersonated the likes of Kanye West and JAY-Z and proved herself to be one of the best female MCs of all time. Today, Minaj's most vocal critics agree that she nailed it with the 2010 single. The genre's reverence for “Monster” is what makes the latest leak so intriguing. A short snippet of Nicki Minaj's original verse leaked online on August 19. The leak is notable because Kanye West claimed the rapper had her verse rewritten multiple times.

The snippet is significantly shorter than Nicki Minaj's final verse, but the similarities are obvious. The rhyme scheme is similar, but the opening lines are different. “Go get them eggs and ham, they greener than doc Suess,” she raps. The following lines are the same as the final version, with references to “Barbie” and the killer doll Chucky. The delivery, however, is much less eccentric. It's clear that when recording the final version, Nicki Minaj decided to amplify her personality, and that benefited the song. The “monster” verse regained relevance in December 2023, when Kanye West and Nicki Minaj got into a very public feud.

Kanye West asked Minaj for permission to release their collaboration “New Body,” but she declined. West then criticized Minaj during a listening session. “I made the girl rewrite her verse on 'Monster' three times,” he explained. “I supported her career. So I don't know what it is.” Nicki Minaj took to social media to clarify her stance on “New Body” and the denied release. She felt that the time for the song had come and gone, as she had recorded her verse three years earlier.

“As far as Kanye is concerned, that train has left the station,” Minaj told her fans. “No disrespect, I just came out with a brand new album. Why would I release a song that's been out for three years? Come on, guys.” Ironically, Nicki Minaj had to fight to get the “Monster” verse on West's album in 2010. “It was like an hour-long phone call trying to convince him to keep the song on his album,” she wrote on Instagram. “He felt like that verse was going to be the talking point of the album.” West's instincts proved right and the rest is history.