Rapper Nicki Minaj performed at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City Tuesday (August 14), and invited the woman she deems "most influential female rapper," Foxy Brown, on stage.

Minaj told Brown her third album, Broken Silence, which dropped in 2001, was ahead of its time, MTV News reports.

"I really wanna thank you for being one of my biggest influences in the game," The YMCMB princess said.

"I never really told Foxy how much she has influenced me and how much she has changed my life, and you've gotta tell people that when they're alive to even be able to take the compliment, instead of paying tribute to them when they're no longer here," Nicki told the crowd.

She said that considering how dramatic things can get between women in the business, she was a little afraid to tell Foxy how she truly felt because she didn't know how Foxy felt about her. Minaj's fears stem from her feud with rapper Lil Kim.

Nicki felt comfortable talking to Foxy, however, and was honored by the chance to tell her, "You were the most influential rapper to me."

"For her to be on my stage, it was emotional. She was emotional," Nicki told MTV News. "This is what it's really all about. When you get to where you have arrived to, and give thanks to the people who opened those doors and triggered something in your mind. When I found out Foxy Brown was from Trinidad, that did something to me. In my mind, I felt like I could be proud of where I'm from."

- By Layne Weiss