Nicki Minaj Gets 'Stamp Of Approval' From Jay-Z

Nicki Minaj
Photo: MTV News

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Nicki Minaj is definitely getting noticed in the music industry. But has Nick's fame reached all the way to the top? Well, none other than Jay-Z recommended her to Robin Thicke as a guest star on his single "Shakin' It 4 Daddy." Not only did the singer take Jigga's advice, but he also brought the sexy Queens MC with him on various performance dates, even appearing with her on "The Late Show With David Letterman."

"[I] cannot put into words how I felt when he told me that," Nicki said about the Jay co-sign. "[Robin] was like, 'By the way, let me tell you this great story.' "

As Thicke told MTV several weeks ago, Hov heard a rough version of the song and told him he should get the Young Money siren on the track.

"It was Jay's idea," Thicke said of the "Shakin' It 4 Daddy" collabo. "We were in the studio and I played him the whole album. He was like, 'You should get Nicki Minaj on that. She's got that voice. She's got that swag.' So I leaned over and was like, 'Somebody get Nicki Minaj on the phone! Jay-Z said so!' Next thing you know, we called Nicki. She was excited. But once we told her it was Jay-Z's idea to get her on the track, she started screaming on the phone. She was all excited. She's a super, super talent. I can't wait to do a video with Nicki. There's a power in her. It's not just that she's sexy and that's the only way she can get you to like her. She's got charm -- not just sex. Some women may use sex to get what they want; others have charm. She's got charm."

"I was like, 'What?' " Minaj told Mixtape Daily. "Obviously, Jay-Z ... Jay-Z is a person in hip-hop that you almost don't think he exist until you meet him. It's almost like he's bigger than a person. He's a mythical figure. That's a great way to describe it. I was like, 'Jay-Z knows me?' I didn't think he knew who I was, let alone recommend me for something. If he did know who I was, I didn't know if he liked my style or approved. It was weird. It was like getting that stamp of approval from the most popular jock in high school and being a freshman in high school and thinking no one knows you exist."

Jay had a front-row seat when Minaj and Thicke performed at the Sex Therapy album-release party in New York last year.

"He saw me perform it with Robin at Robin's party," Nicki remembered. "It was scary -- him and Beyoncé were there, literally a few feet away from us watching us perform in New York. They loved the performance. Beyoncé was so into it. I never saw her act like that. She was like, 'You killed it.' It was just a crazy experience -- that whole night, even being tied to somebody like Robin. I wouldn't expect him to want to make a record like 'Shakin' It 4 Daddy.' I'm just happy to be a part of the project and I'm glad it came from Jay. I don't think Robin really knew me. When Jay said that, he probably was like, 'Really?' and researched me. Then I think he saw me in the 'Five Star' video and got an idea of who I was. If it didn't come from Jay, he probably would have been like, 'Who? Never heard of her.' "

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