Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday

I've never liked Nicki Minaj but Stupid Hoe is so so so good, and that juke jukewerk my goodness, I'm in heaven right now

proper descriptor is anime eyes btw

That song is like Missy + Gaga + Devo

the song itself (ignoring the video) is kind of like an attempt to recreate "itty bitty piggy" but not actually as amazing - i approve of the general direction though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMZ5s7o2F88

i think rhyming "Roman Zolanski" with "Roman Polanski" might be the one misstep. But she's so talented, she's allowed. http://i.imgur.com/zi7hd.gif

props for the 80s spelling of "hoe"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjSmiGMN1ek

http://i.imgur.com/zi7hd.gif

i think rhyming "Roman Zolanski" with "Roman Polanski" might be the one misstep.

brangelina/jennifer reference is a bit #twothousandandlate too #no1curr

"bitch, you see where brad at" is kinda dope tho

who is the dude that shows up in the video a few times

dave cool, you seem to know a lot about hip hop http://i.imgur.com/zi7hd.gif

it's pretty cool, as music is concerned. http://i.imgur.com/zi7hd.gif

"bitch, you see where brad at" is kinda dope tho

yeah it would've been a dope line in 2004 or whenever all of that actually happened

i think of a dated reference like i would a sample of a song i've forgotten. just because its not in the zeitgeist doesn;t mean its not dope to flip it. (cf, Biz Markie, "Reagan is the prez but i voted for Shirley Chisolm")

http://i.imgur.com/zi7hd.gif

idk, i feel like brad/angelina/jennifer refs have sort of transcended being just a pop cultural event w/ a time & place -- it's like referencing a fairy tale or something at this point

that might be the case if it wasn't for tabloids ceaselessly beating the dead horse over the years - i'm just tired of hearing all their names - like referencing britney/justin or something might have that effect, idk

i think its a pretty nitpicky point, lex, but i always respect your passion and opinions on ilx. http://i.imgur.com/zi7hd.gif

Is she dissing lil kim in this?

People say so, but I don't see any specific Kim references to indicate shots fired... Who knows?

And yeah, this is definitely very "Itty Bitty Piggy" and not quite as incredible, but after the direction Pink Friday took overall (in part by commercial necessity), it's good to see Nicki signalling that this is at least PART of what she's going to be doing going forward.

I guess I thought the party about you should have befriended me seemed like a shot at kim...cuz didn't nicki basically say she idolized kim coming up then kim was bitchy to her?

is kim putting out an EP? is any notable minaj adversary?

tbh it may or may not be consciously about kim but i'm pretty sick of the narrative that sets EVERY WOMAN IN HIP-HOP against each other

Well I mean I don't think we are buying into a narrative here, kim and nicki have berg and she just released a song that sounds like a diss called ”super hoe” so...

Have beef not berg

curious why the bubbles/mj reference passes lex's sniff test -_-

surely this is aimed at kim at least partly -- "stupid hoe shoulda befriended me, and she coulda probly came back"

the only part i don't like is "I AM THE FEMALE WEEZY" :(

^^^ yeah, that line bothers me too

Also this line:

"Bitch talkin she the queen when she looking like a lab rat"

Definitely seems directed at Lil Kim, and that's how it's already being interpreted anyway.

Yeah, thats where I picked it up, figured the "queen" was a "Queen Bee" reference.

i really think that regardless of nicki's intentions it's far more interesting to talk about how the song works (or not) as though it's not about lil kim, because ~catfights~ between female rappers are not their sole point of interest

(it pisses me off that nicki's apparently bought into that narrative too. NO ONE FUCKING DOES IT TO UP-AND-COMING MALE RAPPERS.)

I'm not so sure I agree with that lex, lots of writers try to force narratives on X vs Y when rappers are coming out. Of course its not at the annoying "catfight" level as it is with the female rappers, but critics definitely do try to fill in these neat little narratives of Young Rapper X is gunning at Old Rapper Y's spot.

and how often do they do that vis-à-vis the number of emerging male rappers? once in a while?

EVERY post-nicki female rapper has had the "ooooh she's coming for nicki's crown" narrative foisted on them AT ALL TIMES. male rappers can diss unnamed rivals in their songs without people going "is it about X or Y?" but when az banks comes out with "212" it MUST be about nicki.

also why is this a point that people want to argue? IT'S REALLY OBVIOUS THAT THIS HAPPENS. nnnnghhhhhhhhh don't fucking try to argue otherwise just to pick an argument with me.

or should we just agree that there's no sexism or clichés about how female rappers are covered anywhere, at all

I get what you are saying lex, but I do think it happens wrt male rappers much more than you are giving credit. How many times did stuff like "oooh that must be a Em diss" or "he's totally going for Jigga there" come up? Quite a bit, iirc.

I'm not arguing with you! I agree, and its frustrating. It just DOES happen with male rappers too.

i'm saying it doesn't happen by default and ALL THE TIME with EVERY NEW SONG THEY MAKE to male rappers.

and it's never used in the service of the "there can only be one existent female rapper at any given time" belief, or as a means of avoiding treating her like an artist in her own right/addressing her songs in their own right.

so in addressing nicki's songs in their own right we should just ignore all the lines about calling out other female rappers

dayo i think EVERY time you have talked to me here in the past, like, month, you've been trying to troll me or argue with me. please don't? it's tiring.

sure thing bro

i really think that regardless of nicki's intentions it's far more interesting to talk about how the song works (or not) as though it's not about lil kim, because ~catfights~ between female rappers are not their sole point of interest

I dunno Lex, I take the point above. But agree with dayo, it's still a real aspect to how the track has been talked about and received, so I don't think it shouldn't ignored either. I also don't understand why it has to be an argument?

male rappers can diss unnamed rivals in their songs without people going "is it about X or Y?"

i really don't agree w/ this at all, and it's one thing about rap blogs that really pisses me off -- ppl have been picking thru wayne and drake and kanye and jay lines trying to make up beefs b/w them for years and years now

and even on a micro level, ppl will pick thru lines by smaller rappers from the same city wondering if they're going at each other

which isn't to say that there isn't some truth to what you're saying, lex, but you're way overstating your case

While it's pathetic that (male) listeners still define female performers on male terms, guys have dissed each other practically since the genre was created (KRS-1, LL Cool J, 50 Cent, etc).

I would agree with all of this if the song weren't called 'stupid hoe' and the chorus wasn't 'you a stupid hoe'

tbh I didn't think much about the title and to whom it's directed.

I didn't really think about (or care) at who the song is directed, but I'm not gonna act like nicki had no part in framing the debate around this song

There's definitely a difference between people reading into to subliminals and vague, general/generic disses that male rappers fit into every song, and people constructing rivalries between every female rapper and pitting all female rappers against eachother (which they do ALL OF THE TIME WITHOUT FAIL). though, in this case, the song is clearly about Lil Kim and Kim & Nicki have been vocal about their "beef" (though obv this beef started because Kim is insecure about her place in rap given Nicki's ascendancy and the fact there can't be more than one active female rapper for some reason)

I agree w/ lex's argument in general and would agree w/ no qualifications if the debate around 'super bass' or even, to use a stronger example, massive attack had been shoehorned into this narrative but please don't act like nicki wasn't complicit in setting the goalposts for 'stupid hoe'

I don't put much cop into the mercenary nature of these "beefs."