Home Interviews Nicki Minaj Calls ‘Moment 4 Life’ Video ‘A Celebration Of Royalty’.

Nicki Minaj Calls ‘Moment 4 Life’ Video ‘A Celebration Of Royalty’.

January 27, 2011

minajnicki — Nicki Minaj on the set
of her video for Moment 4 Life
Photo: MTV

Clip premieres tonight at 7:54 p.m. ET on MTV, followed by a live Q&A session with Nicki!

Being the creative person Nicki Minaj is — she did, after all, graduate from a performing-arts high school — she usually has an idea of how she wants her songs to be expressed visually. But when it came to her “Moment 4 Life” video, featuring Drake, the Lil Wayne protégé admitted she wasn’t initially sure how the clip should look.

“Usually, with all of my songs, I have a vision of what I want the video to look like,” she told MTV News of the clip, which premieres Thursday (January 27) at 7:54 p.m. ET on MTV, followed by a live Q&A with Nicki herself. “But with ‘Moment 4 Life,’ I didn’t have a vision for it yet.”

Then, the hip-hop upstart had her “aha!” moment. “All of a sudden, I said, ‘I know what it is,’ ” Nicki recalled. ” … It’s a celebration but a different kind of celebration. It’s almost a celebration of royalty, you know, arriving into a new level and feeling like you’re among kings.”

Certainly, Drake’s inclusion helps things. The other Lil Wayne mentee also had a huge 2010, and together, the pair were able to help make up for the absence of their boss, who spent the majority of the year behind bars.

Weezy’s spirit was present on set, though, even if the Cash Money superstar wasn’t, Drake said.

“The fringes on the bottom, that’s Weezy old hair,” Drake joked of the ornate bed dressing, doing his best Birdman impression. “That’s Weezy’s dreads dyed red, you understand.”

But the Thank Me Later star was supportive of Minaj and her clip. “It’s a fantasy video,” he said. “So you’ve got a very regal environment. You got Nicky doing what she does. Big outfits. Big everything.”