The 2020s File Feature
We Go Up
We Go Up — Nicki Minaj and Fivio Foreign Combine ForcesApril 2022, and hip-hop is running two very different experiments simultaneously: the Brooklyn drill s…
01 The Story
We Go Up — Nicki Minaj and Fivio Foreign Combine Forces
April 2022, and hip-hop is running two very different experiments simultaneously: the Brooklyn drill sound is spreading outward from its New York stronghold, and Nicki Minaj is in the middle of one of the more determined comeback runs in recent pop memory. We Go Up brought those two trajectories together on a single track, pairing the most decorated female rapper in the genre's history with one of drill's most commercially ascendant voices.
Two Artists, Two Moments
Fivio Foreign had spent 2020 and 2021 building real commercial traction on the back of Brooklyn drill, a UK-influenced subgenre characterized by sliding melodies over menacing 808-heavy production. His feature credits stacked up rapidly, and by 2022 he was a sought-after collaborator. Nicki Minaj, for her part, had been navigating the complexities of maintaining a superstar profile through personal life changes and a shifting landscape; her releases in this period carried the energy of an artist reasserting her position on the board.
The Sound of the Track
The production leans into a glossy, energized palette that bridges mainstream trap and the harder edges of drill without fully committing to either. Nicki's presence on any record elevates its technical standard; her flow remains one of the most technically precise in the genre, with syllable placement and internal rhyme schemes that reward close attention. Fivio's contributions bring the grit and swagger that made his brand distinctive. The combination is confident, occasionally abrasive, and thoroughly commercial.
Charting and Reach
The song debuted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 9, 2022, spending one week on the chart. That single-week entry still represents genuine mainstream reach, and for a collaboration where both artists brought loyal streaming bases, the debut number reflects the combined pull of their audiences. Nicki Minaj has accumulated more Hot 100 entries than any other female rapper in history, and each addition to that tally, however brief the stay, reinforces the cumulative scale of her chart footprint.
The Legacy of Strategic Collaborations
Minaj has long understood the value of timely collaborations: aligning with the genre's current sonic energy while maintaining her own stylistic authority. We Go Up reads as a deliberate engagement with the drill moment, a signal that she was paying attention to where the culture was moving and choosing to be part of it. For Fivio, the association with a figure of Minaj's stature provided a different kind of credential. Press play and you hear two artists who both understand exactly what they are doing and why.
“We Go Up” — Nicki Minaj & Fivio Foreign's singular moment on the 2020s charts.
02 Song Meaning
Unpacking We Go Up: Ambition as Identity
The title of We Go Up is essentially a thesis statement. Upward movement, advancement, ascension: these are not just aspirations in the song's worldview but the fundamental organizing principle of how both artists understand their place in the world. The track is a celebration of that ethos, delivered with the conviction of people who have already gone up and intend to keep doing so.
The Grammar of Rap Confidence
Contemporary hip-hop has developed a rich vocabulary of self-assurance, and both Nicki Minaj and Fivio Foreign are fluent in it. The song's lyrics cycle through status markers, financial accomplishment, and relationship dynamics, all filtered through the lens of unapologetic ambition. This is a genre tradition with deep roots: rap has always used material success as shorthand for the escape from constraint, the proof that effort and talent can override systemic obstacles.
Female Rap and the Assertion of Power
Nicki Minaj's verses carry a particular charge within the song's broader context. Her position in hip-hop has always involved navigating an industry that routinely undervalued women while she accumulated credentials that demanded acknowledgment. The assertiveness in her delivery on tracks like this one functions as both artistic performance and documented history: she has earned the right to speak this way, and the audience knows the receipts. Her presence elevates the song's confidence from posture to statement.
Drill's Emotional Register
Fivio Foreign's contributions draw on drill music's characteristic studied nonchalance as a stylistic choice. The genre tends to deliver dramatic content with flatness, and that quality gives We Go Up some of its texture. Where Nicki brings theatricality and verbal dexterity, Fivio brings a cool that reads as unshakeable. The contrast between those two modes keeps the track interesting throughout.
Why the Collaboration Works
The song functions because both artists operate in registers that genuinely complement each other rather than simply coexisting on the same track. The aspiration in the title is one both of them embody in their careers, and listeners feel that coherence. For fans of either artist, the record offers the pleasure of watching two people who are very good at something be very good at it together. That pleasure is simpler and more durable than any thematic analysis can fully capture.
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