All Things Go

Album: The Pinkprint (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • One of the most personal tracks Minaj has ever recorded, here are some of the topics the rapper touches on during the heartfelt song:

    Marriage (First verse)

    Life is a movie, but there will never be a sequel
    And I'm good with that, as long as I'm peaceful
    As long as 7 years from now, I'm taking my daughter to preschool


    Minaj told Complex magazine just prior to the Pinkprint's release that she plans to be married with children by her fifth album. She also referenced her dream of being a good wife during her collaboration with David Guetta, "Hey Mama."

    Later in the first verse, Ninaj references a marriage proposal in 2006 from longtime boyfriend Safaree "SB" Samuels.

    Tragedy (second verse)

    Minaj's cousin, Nicholas Telemaque, was shot and killed in East Flatbush, Brooklyn in a "senseless act of violence" back in July 2011. Apparently Nicholas had wanted to bunk with Nicki in her house before he died, but because of her new found fame he was afraid to call the MC and bother her. The MC flirts with blaming herself, wishing she'd invited him. wondering what would have happened. "I pop a pill and remember the look in his eyes, the last day he saw me," Minaj raps.

    Minaj previously referenced her cousin's murder on the Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded track "Champion." ("'Cause they killed my little cousin Nicholas. But my memory's only happy images.")

    Abortion (Third verse)

    My child with Aaron, would've have been sixteen, any minute.

    Minaj references her teenage abortion, which she previously rapped about on her 2008 track "Autobiography," but this time gives the name of her father.

    Family (Third verse)

    Cherish these nights, cherish these people
    Life is a movie but there'll never be a sequel.


    Minaj opens up about her relationship with:

    Her mother, Carol ("I love my mother more than life itself, and that's a fact I'd give it all, somehow if I could, just rekindle that.")

    Older brother Jelani ("I know Jelani will always love me, and I'll always love him. And I'm just his Little sister not Nicki Minaj when I'm around him.")

    Younger brother Micaiah ("I want 'Caiah to go to college, just to say 'We did it!")
  • Minaj told Complex she's struggled with a lot of guilt, which she raps about on The Pinkprint album. "When you're working and you're busy and you're successful, no matter what, something suffers, whether it's your relationship with your mother, your relationship with your whole family, not being able to go to your brother's graduation," the Queens rapper said. "Certain things suffer and take the back burner, not because they're on the back burner in your heart but because the world just moves so quickly. A lot of people, when they're chasing their dreams, they have to leave people they love. A lot of artists feel that guilt but they don't express it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graham Nash

Graham NashSongwriter Interviews

Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.

The End Of The Rock Era

The End Of The Rock EraSong Writing

There are no more rock stars - the last one died in 1994.

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of WayneSongwriter Interviews

The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Glen Ballard

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Trucking Songs That Were #1 Hits

Trucking Songs That Were #1 HitsSong Writing

The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.