Nicki Minaj Says 'Monster' Almost Didn't Make the Cut

(Radio.com) "Monster" is a highlight of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West's 2010 magnum opus--in no small part because Nicki Minaj delivers an epic, career-changing verse.

Nicki was feeling wistful on Instagram as the song (which also features JAY-Z) turns 7 years old so she explained to fans that Yeezy almost dropped the song from the album, until she talked sense into him.

"Kanye called me to tell me Jay put a verse on this song & that he was still deciding if he would put it on his album," she wrote. "Haha. It was like an hour long call where I tried to convince him to let the song stay on his album. He felt this verse would end up being the talk of the album. I said: YOU'RE KANYE WEST!!!!"

Nicki also thanked Kanye for the platform and creative direction. "Kanye, thank you for being the genius you are," she said. "You always put others first. I fought u every step of the way but it worked out. (He wanted me to add more of that growling monster voice and I felt it was overkill.) He wouldn't give in. In the end, maybe he was right. Ha!" Read Nicki's reflections here.