Birdman -- DENIED at Nicki Minaj Pre-Grammy Party

Birdman and his very big crew were turned away from Nicki Minaj's pre-Grammy party in West Hollywood early Sunday, and cops raced over to make sure things didn't get out of hand.

There's talk Nicki is going to bail on Birdman's Cash Money and follow Lil Wayne, so the fact that the mogul was sent walking seems like a big deal. He showed up at 1:45 AM and the club is supposed to close at 2, and you hear a guy at the door tell Birdman's posse the club was already closed.

At the same time, there was a good 15 minutes left and Birdman's kind of a big deal, and that may be why you hear someone say that Nicki didn't want him in.