Leaked in April 2018 under the title, “Half Back,” the track was mysteriously made available on a Russian streaming service. The song was renamed and remastered to be featured on Queen.

During an interview with Zane Lowe, Nicki was asked about the track, and she stated that it was recorded early 2017 (late February – early March) during Paris Fashion Week probably, the same time “No Frauds” was recorded. This debunked the controversy about the song being targeted toward Cardi B.

On January 31st, 2019, Nicki announced “Hard White” to be the second promotional single off Queen, with the official music video dropping later that day.