Hip-hop heavyweight Dr. Dre has given his opinion on Nicki Minaj and Young Money's bold decision to axe an appearance at the last minute because of an on-air diss and described the situation as hopeless.

While Dre understood that having your music publicly slated is never a good thing, he explained that because Minaj refused to perform she ended up hurting her fans and should have simply carried on with the set at Hot 97's Summer Jam for their benefit:

"First of all, Nicki Minaj was the only one who ruined 55,000 fans' expectations of the night. It has nothing to do with Rosenberg. You go out there and you perform for your fans."

Hot 97's DJ Peter Rosenberg was introducing another act at the popular event when he referenced Minaj's hit 'Starships' and said: "I know there are some chicks in here waiting to sing along with 'Starships' later. I'm not talking to y'all now. F**k that bulls**t."

Despite this, Dre believes that as a true professional it would have been best to put personal feelings aside and honour the commitment, adding:

"You can't look at anybody that crosses over and achieves pop appeal as a sellout, because that's what you're trying to do when you put a record out," Lover said. "So if Nicki Minaj ain't real hip-hop, then Public Enemy wasn't real hip-hop, then Run-Dmc wasn't real hip-hop, then Eminem ain't real hip-hop."

"She's an artist whether I like her or I don't like her. My daughter loves her and thinks that she's the world, and that's the case."

Watch Minaj perform 'Starships' during a recent concert here: