Ganja Burn

Album: Queen (2018)
Charted: 60
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The opening song from Queen is a rhythmic track with mellow Afro-pop vibes, courtesy of J. Reid of Chevi Muzi. The beatmaker also produced Minaj's "Chun-Li" and "Barbie Tingz" singles. The track's title is a double entendre, in which the Queen Barbz is "burning all the weeds" out of her life highlighting that she's out to reclaim her throne.
  • According to Minaj, this is her favourite track on Queen. However, the title was originally listed "Ganja Burns" as the rapper was "so sleep deprived" she wrote 'burns' instead of 'burn' when they were pushing her for the tracklist.

    Minaj also expressed a willingness to make a change on the track, as after listening back to it after Queen had been dropped, she hated how low she'd made the hook.
  • Minaj boasts about writing her own rhymes on the second verse:

    Unlike a lot of these hoes whether wack or lit
    At least I can say I wrote every rap I spit
    Put my blood, sweat and tears in perfecting my craft


    It's been suggested this is a subliminal diss towards fellow female New York rapper Cardi B who worked with co-writers when creating her debut album Invasion of Privacy.
  • Minaj's recording engineer, Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine, recalled the story of the song:

    "That was crazy, because she probably freestyled 65 percent, 75 percent of the song," he told Rolling Stone. "She got the beat from her producer J. Reid, head it, told me to load it up and ran in the booth. It was kind of the same with 'Chun-Li.' She was playing around, singing, 'ganja burn, ganja burn, ganja burn,' and then when she listened back, she was like, 'that s--t's hard!' I wanna say the hook is still the freestyle she laid when she first stepped in the booth. She pulled that s--t out of thin air."
  • The fiery desert-based video was directed by collaborative photographers Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott who also did the album artwork. The visuals add a storyline to the record cover, which shows Minaj dressed as an African queen.

Comments: 1

  • Lau Rence from ZambiaNicki Minaj is the best of all time
    Most songs I play they sound connected to her life time.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.

Randy Houser

Randy HouserSongwriter Interviews

The "How Country Feels" singer talks Skynyrd and songwriting.

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Brenda Russell

Brenda RussellSongwriter Interviews

Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.