Nicki Minaj and J. Cole Collaborate on “Let Me Calm Down” (+Lyrics)

Nicki Minaj unveils the J. Cole-featured “Let Me Calm Down” song produced by ATL Jacob, Hendrix Smoke & Kujibeats. Listen, stream, read the lyrics, buy the song.

Nicki Minaj, the queen of rap, has unveiled her latest track, “Let Me Calm Down,” featuring J. Cole. The song, produced by ATL Jacob, Hendrix Smoke, and Kujibeats, is a standout from her first LP since 2018, Pink Friday 2.

Nicki Minaj Pink Friday 2

A Dream Collaboration

There are few mainstream rappers whom Nicki Minaj hasn’t collaborated with. On Friday (December 8), she crossed a few names off her dream list. Not only do we hear the Trinidadian reconnect with past frequent collaborators like Drake and Lil Wayne, but she and J. Cole also came together for the first time on a track called “Let Me Calm Down.”

Reflecting on Relationship Dynamics

Overproduction by ATL Jacob, Hendrix Smoke, and Kujibeats, we hear both lyricists reflect on their problematic relationship dynamics. Minaj begins her verse, pouring her heart into every word. “My heart sayin’ I love him while I’m screamin’ that I hate him / And ain’t no more debatin’, this time, it’s a ultimatum,” she raps. “I wrote a line for you and it was beautiful / I made a sign for you to say you’re beautiful / You’re so, so irresistible / Take me to somewhere mystical,” she continues on the chorus.

J. Cole’s Unstoppable Streak

For his part, Cole unsurprisingly continues his streak of killing every feature he’s been on this year. “Uh, havin’ her ain’t for the faint of heart / She bad as fk but hard to deal with, and it ain’t her fault,” he gasses up the woman in his life. “She got ambition like the nias, and the vision for herself / So she can’t rest until she feel like she done made her mark.”

Nicki Minaj – Let Me Calm Down (ft. J. Cole) (prod. ATL Jacob, Hendrix Smoke & Kujibeats)

Get the song

8 December 2023
1 Song, 4 minutes
Young Money; ℗ 2023 Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

Lyrics

[Intro: Nicki Minaj]
Hold, hold you
Let me hold you
Wanna hold, hold you
Let me hold you
Hold, hold you (Let me, let me, let me)

[Verse 1: Nicki Minaj]
Pull off and I almost hit him
He actin’ like I ain’t always with him
My heart sayin’ I love him while I’m screamin’ that I hate him
And ain’t no more debatin’, this time, it’s a ultimatum
I never forgot where I was at the first day I met him
Yeah, it was love at first sight, but I ain’t never sweat him
I knew if it was meant to be that one day I would let him
Twenty years later, them decisions, I don’t regret them
Just wish you would give me space when I really need it
To be alone in my zone when I’m really heated
Just ’cause I am quiet, don’t mean you’re defeated
Wish you ain’t need me to feel like you’re completed
Don’t wanna say somethin’ mean when I don’t mean it
Million missed calls, I don’t wanna talk
Just did a detox, now I wanna spar

[Chorus: Nicki Minaj]
I wrote a line for you and it was beautiful
I made a sign for you to say you’re beautiful
You’re so, so irresistible
Take me to somewhere mystical
You’re so
Do you know?
For you, I promise I’ll try
For you, I promise I’ll try
For you, I promise I’ll try

[Verse 2: J. Cole]
Uh, havin’ her ain’t for the faint of heart
She bad as fuck but hard to deal with, and it ain’t her fault
She got ambition like the niggas, and the vision for herself
So she can’t rest until she feel like she done made her mark
So if you love her, then you gotta learn to play your part
Sometimes you gotta play the back
But when you do, make sure you play it smart
All these niggas want her, so they hatin’ hard
They talkin’ slick and make you wanna pull a rated-R
You like her, love her like a brother, like her manager, an A&R
Plus a therapist when it start rainin’ hard
Her life was trauma filled, it left her with a tainted heart
Yet you the nigga that she wanna tat her name across
But you need patience and a lot of extra faith from God
To keep the family together at a time when it’s so regular to break apart
So God forbid, y’all got a kid, therefore, I hate the thought
It’s you and her against the world until there ain’t no more breath in your lungs
I’m just a messenger, but God is who this message is from
I wanna send you my respect because I rep for the ones
That hold they wifey down despite all of the extras that come
Word to Willy Smith, these silly niggas heckle and shun
As if they life is somehow perfect and they never been plunged
Into a dark place, so I can’t respect when it’s done
It’s family first through the worst, comin’ second to none, for real

[Chorus: Nicki Minaj]
I wrote a line for you and it was beautiful
I made a sign for you to say you’re beautiful
You’re so, so irresistible
Take me to somewhere mystical
You’re so
For you, know
For you, I promise I’ll try