Nicki Minaj Wonders How NBA YoungBoy Has Such ‘Hardcore’ Fans Without ‘Help’ From Outlets

Nicki Minaj is genuinely curious about why NBA YoungBoy gets so much love and support from his fans.

During a recent Instagram Live session, Minaj posed the question to the people who were watching her. “What is it about NBA YoungBoy that was able to garner that level of hardcore, diehard, unwavering support?” she asked. “That’s without getting help from a lot of the mainstream outlets — let’s just call a thing and thing.

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.

She compared YoungBoy’s supporters to the Barbs because of how they show up for him. “You know how my fans act with me and it feels more like a family, a camaraderie,” she said. “They don’t play about me and I don’t play about them — and people are always trying to figure it out.”

After giving her spiel, Minaj started to read out a few responses from people attempting to explain what draws fans to him. “His raw personality. You can visualize anything that he’s saying and, just like you, he never gets his flowers,” she read, prompting her to say “aww” afterward.

“The more haters he gets, the stronger their love gets — kind of like us with you,” she said, before adding “bingo.”

YoungBoy and Minaj have collaborated together, so far, on three separate occasions. The latest time was for the track “WTF” from YoungBoy’s 2023 album, Don’t Try This at Home.

In 2022, Minaj told the world about what it was like to work with YoungBoy on their track, “What That Speed Bout.”

“YoungBoy was rlly dope,” she wrote on X. “Chill. Laid back. Sweet. rlly f**kswit his vibe. Didn’t do the most on set, more mature than I thought he’d be. He was on gangsta time.”