Songfacts®:

• This song features Minaj's labelmate Drake. Having previously expressed his feelings for the New York MC on his track "Miss Me," the Toronto rapper continues to express in his lyrics a wish to tie the knot with her on this song. "F--- it, me and Nicki getting married today," Drake raps. "And all you bitches hating can catch the bouquet." Alicia Keys' Drake assisted track, "Un-thinkable (I'm Ready)" was also partly inspired by the Canadian lyricist's love for Minaj.
• Minaj explained this song's meaning on her website: "[The song] is about 2 kids that grew up on the same block. They shared their dreams of making it as rappers," the lyricist writes. "They laughed together, they cried together. One day they realize that their dreams have come to fruition. Though they know all things come to an end, they celebrate. They wish that they could have this moment 4 LIFE."
• Minaj told MTV News that it was Drake who provided her with the instrumental. "Drake came to the studio one night and he brought me a whole bunch of beats when I was wrapping up the [Pink Friday] album. This 'Moment 4 Life' was one of the beats, and he was like, 'Just do whatever. Whatever you pick, I'm just gonna rock with you.' I had the beat for a while, maybe, like, over a month, and I was just sitting on it — pause — and next thing you know, I was shooting [the video for] 'Right Thru Me' and I played this beat for everybody in my dressing room, and I was like, 'Do you like this beat?' Everybody said, 'Yeah.' And I just went to the studio the next day, and I laid the hook and I sent it to Drake and I didn't know if he was gonna like it, blah blah blah, and he was like, 'I love it.'"
• The fairy tale music video was shot and directed by Chris Robinson and features Minaj taking on three different parts. She plays an over-the-top fairy godmother (as her British alter ego Martha), a Cinderella-like character and herself whilst a tuxedo-clad Drake plays the handsome prince. At the end of the clip the two rappers romantically kiss on the stroke of midnight. In an interview with MTV News, Minaj discussed the development of the fairytale narrative saying she initially had a more bottle-poppin' vibe in mind. "I definitely went back and forth with Chris [Robinson] a lot. I just wanted it to be something a little bit unexpected. First I wanted it to be like, really just a celebration and a party," she admitted. "But I had the idea of making it more of a romance. Chris just sort of took those little bits and pieces and ran with it, and then it became sort of this big Cinderella thing."
  
  Minaj added that she was inspired by the regal, romantic attire of Shakespeare's era. "I wanted to take a step away from, like, high fashion or, like, [a] hip-hop, sporty type of look and into just, like, real flowy and just to play dress-up," she said. "I was envisioning a Shakespeare time, and I figured, 'What would they wear?' I felt like the first outfit kinda looked like, almost like you're in Egypt somewhere back in the day, like a long time ago."
• The song featured in a 2012 advertising campaign for Pepsi Cola, which centers around the theme "Live for Now." It shows a couple opening a can of the beverage and time freezing as a result. Several other "frozen" scenarios occur, with the final one being at a Minaj concert.