Last week at the MTV Europe Music Awards, Nicki Minaj debuted a new song called “Bed of Lies”. The track is a collaboration with Skylar Grey. A full version of the ballad was released on November 15 as the fourth single from Minaj’s upcoming album, The Pinkprint. The song marks a shift in Minaj’s style, with “Bed of Lies” being a more personal track about dealing with betrayal from an ex-boyfriend.
In an interview with Billboard about the track, Skylar Grey talked about how the collaboration came about. “The song started being written almost a year ago and then [Minaj] picked it up and wrote her verses on it. Luckily, she liked the demo of it enough to keep me on the song,” Grey said in the interview. “When I heard that she was taking the song I was surprised because it’s not a typical kind of song for her. I was very excited when I heard what she did with it. She seemed to take it to a very personal place. And I love that, I love doing that with my songs and my collaborations, bringing out something that’s a little more emotional and personal with the artist.”
Minaj talked about this change in direction with Rolling Stone. In the interview, she said, “I don’t think any of these songs could have been on my last album. I’ve grown as a writer. I’m braver in terms of speaking about things I didn’t feel comfortable sharing two years ago.”
The rapper recently made the news after the video for her song “Only” featuring Drake, Lil Wayne, and Chris Brown, became controversial for its apparent use of Nazi imagery. The video’s director, Jeffrey Osborne, refused to apologize for the music video. However, Minaj took to twitter to issue an apology. “I didn’t come up with the concept, but I’m very sorry and take full responsibility if it has offended anyone. I’d never condone Nazism in my art,” Minaj tweeted.
Nicki Minaj’s ‘Only’ video director won’t apologize for lyric video’s Nazi imagery: http://t.co/hVFShBbdP2 pic.twitter.com/JsjtGOsNRm
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) November 11, 2014
I didn’t come up w/the concept, but I’m very sorry & take full responsibility if it has offended anyone. I’d never condone Nazism in my art.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) November 11, 2014
