I'm Nicki Minaj, Nicki Lewinsky, Nicki the Ninja, Nicki the Boss, Nicki the Harajuku Barbie

Well yeah duh I know that. There are multiple factors to that but still in a perfect world Jean Grae should be as popular as Nicki so in order to have different female perspectives in hip hop. But since hip hop fans generally don't like females in general it's hard for either type of female rappers to have full acceptance.

God sorry for the too many generals. I'm in a cranky mood (doesn't detract from my opinion).

don't be sorry for Jean Grae's Generals

thing about nikki is theres a bunch of things about her that u mention that make me want to give a shit -- like, im rooting for her, objectively -- but aesthetically the music really isnt doing it for me. i dont like the rap shes taking cues from as it is -- havent been feeling lil wayne tracks for a couple years

yeah one on hand i think it was good for her to get out of nyc rap circles, but on the other hand i agree that being around wayne/young money has been a detriment to her as a rapper qua rapper (as a potential pop star or personality or w/e might be a different story) -- like, i'm not sure if i'll ever like a nicki verse more than her one on drought 3

thing about nikki is theres a bunch of things about her that u mention that make me want to give a shit -- like, im rooting for her, objectively -- but aesthetically the music really isnt doing it for me. i dont like the rap shes taking cues from as it is -- havent been feeling lil wayne tracks for a couple years

Well no one said you had to love Nicki to not be sympathetic to the rock and the hard place female rappers go through. Or a matter of fact black female artists go through as a whole. I think between this and Erykah Badu's Window Seat Video I'm finding it increasingly annoying how a black women need to limit themselves to be acceptable. If you stray artistically a little bit you get lambasted for it. Or in Nicki's and Erykah's case a long mile and you really hear the complaining. I say whether you like them or not, it should be encouraged that they take these risks even if they fail.

yeah one on hand i think it was good for her to get out of nyc rap circles, but on the other hand i agree that being around wayne/young money has been a detriment to her as a rapper qua rapper (as a potential pop star or personality or w/e might be a different story) -- like, i'm not sure if i'll ever like a nicki verse more than her one on drought 3

I totally disagree with this statement. I felt like if Nicki stayed in NYC her name wouldn't get out of the city. NYC hip hop isn't as dominant as it once was so how could she be a potential pop star with a region that has long been declining in popularity. Also who knows whether the Young Money style would last another year. I frankly don't care because I'm enjoying it right now. I think its comical, fun, and the crew seems to be having fun with it. If it wasn't for Young Money I wouldn't be listen to hip hop again honestly. After my "back packer" phase and having to suffer through the 50 Cent's domination, I needed something ridiculous to pull me back in. However, I do think Nicki has potential to break out of the Young Money mold, just her timing has to be right. But time will tell for that.

I felt like if Nicki stayed in NYC her name wouldn't get out of the city. NYC hip hop isn't as dominant as it once was so how could she be a potential pop star with a region that has long been declining in popularity.

wait, this is what i said

I think its comical, fun, and the crew seems to be having fun with it.

this is true for college improv comedy troupes, but that doesn't make me want to watch them

having to suffer through the 50 Cent's domination

i think it goes w/o saying that g-unit > young money in every conceivable fashion

Well matter of opinion and different experiences. What are you going to do?

post to a message board

Ha true but before I go to bed (another thing I can do):

this is true for college improv comedy troupes, but that doesn't make me want to watch them

There is nothing wrong with listen to music to have a good laugh.

this is true for college improv comedy troupes, but that doesn't make me want to watch them

G-unit is/were such a joke I couldn't fathom how they could be popular.

but just to be clear, youre repping for young money

Yeah I am so what? They're fun to go to to after listening to something introspective and/or serious sounding.

but then otoh i'm not sure what an accurate minaj solo song would even be like tbh.

this is kinda key! i disagree that she's just a "force of affectation"; obv it's hard to separate her image from her on-record presence but the latter is a lot more varied than you're all crediting her for - i find her pretty chameleonic, her persona's taken a lot of twists and turns over the past year, and it's increasingly obvious that this flux is intentional, and she's going to keep on doing it. i found "massive attack" kinda surprising actually - both more weird (disorientating beat where one could've maybe expected autotune barf) and less weird (no trace of cutesiness, "wacky" voices kept to a minimum) than i'd been anticipating. and we already know she can pull off weird dubstep beats ("saxon") and dancehall queen vibes ("beam me up scotty'). right now i literally have no idea where she plans on going from here, and that makes her career really compelling to follow. she has a real sense of event, too - sometimes you get a bit sick of these amazing gucci mane verses and tracks just dribbling out on to the internet.

in terms of the visuals the "massive attack" video is a pretty obvious continuation of the brash, bewigged image she's been pushing more and more, right? don't think she looks any more out of place in it than she ever has done. i'm really enjoying it actually - it's striking, imaginative, kinda unprecedented in (female) hip-hop, missy apart (and she was always a huge unreplicable exception). actually nicki generally is pretty unprecedented.

and i'll just say again - i'm lukewarm-to-cold on the records she gets the most criticism for ("lil freak", "up out my face", "bedrock"), but in the same timeframe she's also done really stellar guest spots on cassie's "fuck u silly", mya's "ponytail", lloyd's "take it off"...

went back to her "feel free" remix yesterday, that one's such an all-timer for me!

hopped off the boat, i'm such an immigrant
why he get nicki minaj tatted on his ligament
wait - just for the record, i get wetter than fishermen
pull up with some 26s up under the michelins
you know i pop-pop-pop it like a pistol
that's how i keep my wrists lookin' like a disco
and everywhere i go they tell that i'm pretty
my money slow, money stupid, money ditzy
mami you bad, but nicki is badder
step your cookies up, go get you a ladder
we do it early like cheerios and a bagel
i feel freer than the slaves on the railroad

oh did i studda
harajuku hyphen
barbie
im hot i think its time to put the rice in

^^someone plz unpack this for me

it's about the rice

Killin' em like chemical weapons...RICIN

when you was in new york you was fuckin' the yankees
i was fuckin' with bass, i was pitchin' a frankie
these bitches so cranky, give 'em a hanky
but mommy i'm cold, gimme my blanky
flyer than a kite, i get higher than rapunzel
keep the snow white, i can buy her by the bundle
step your cookies up 'fore they crumble
don't be actin' like the cardinals and gon fumble
cuz i'm a steeler, fresh up out the dealer
all the dope boys gon fear her, flow so sick i need a healer
fuck is my mac concealer?
i be out in queens in the back of 4-wh-wh-wh-wh-wheelers
i'm a big girl
that's why i get more head than a pigtail
put some ranch on, i'm gettin' the munchies
i think i'll have a rap bitch for my entrée
and they be thinkin' they can spit-spit-shine my shoes
you know i keep a bad bitch, let me sign your boobs
i'm the only thing hoppin' like a kangaroo
i mean the only thing poppin' like a can o' brew
listen! you should buy a 16 cuz i write it good
an 808, woof woof cuz i write it good
and bitches can't find they man cuz i ride it good
i'm the wolf, WHERE IS LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD?
and if you see an itty bitty piggy in the market
give that bitch a quarter and a car, tell her park it
i don't fuck with pigs like as-salamu alaykum
i put 'em in the field and let oscar meyer bake 'em

her verse on "mi casa, su casa"/"coca coca" is pretty sick

so Nicki's playing this club in South Amboy, NJ two Sundays from now and tickets cost $90, WHAT THE FUCK.

i got an offer to go see summerjam and just couldn't handle the thought of the busride to the meadowlands with the fans

i really love her verse on xtina's "woohoo", which is about the only worthwhile thing on the mess that is xtina's new album. "left from jamaica, go a foreign conTOUR" <3 <3

forks are u more racisty or sexisty??

so Nicki's playing this club in South Amboy, NJ two Sundays from now and tickets cost $90, WHAT THE FUCK.

As psychotic as it sounds, that's almost in the ballpark of typical for club rap shows - also, it's pretty much a guarantee that she'll start 90 minutes late and perform 5 songs.

brilliant observation deej; I see you've gone and earned your ad hominem merit badge. wear that with pride.

lol it was a joke dude

oh. i was genuinely butthurt on that one.
clearly my actual sexy racism motivating my things white people like guilt

it was an horribly formed joke, probably fair to be annoyed by it

it was 5am and i was drunk. mea culpa

plus i hung out w/ john d recently so

her "all I do is win" verse is dope

ask the irs, I'm payin for your health care

I look like YES and you look like NO

^^^

"Knockout" with her and Wayne is incredibly bad. Wayne and smug, slurring autotune over Avril covering some random old MxPx song

this verse & accompanying slice of video is 25% dope, 25% awful, 25% rofl & 25% I KNEW LEFT EYE, AND YOU, MA'AM, ARE NO LEFT EYE

i felt really bad for her about "knockout" -- obviously there is no way she can turn down wayne if he asked for a feature, and i'm sure she was just praaayyyying that it didn't get selected as one of the songs for video, cuz that shit is embarrassing

my xp refers to http://www.thefader.com/2010/06/21/video-diddy-f-rick-ross-nicki-minaj-hello-good-morning-rmx/

also lol @ whoever directed that video not even bothering to match up nicki's mouth with the verse

I understand why everyone hates this girl, and most of the people I've introduced her to have switched teams and now find her grating, but I just cannot stop loving her. I think it's just the little subtleties (the way she moves her face, her attitude and delivery, etc.)

i think if they were actually "subtleties" people would find her a lot less grating

^^^^otm

was gonna say

ok subtleties is totally not the right word. Nuances maybe? The sort of things I can't really put my finger on. I mean, it's not things like "Alexander McQueen's got a wrist on glow"

i think "embellishments" might be a better word

Yes!! That is much better.

i felt really bad for her about "knockout" -- obviously there is no way she can turn down wayne if he asked for a feature, and i'm sure she was just praaayyyying that it didn't get selected as one of the songs for video, cuz that shit is embarrassing

― kaká flocká flame (J0rdan S.), Monday, June 21, 2010 5:47 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it's seriously blowing my mind that in your imagination Nicki Minaj can discern between Lil Wayne's bad tacky ideas and his good ones

You might be right but she doesn't even attempt to sell that video the way stuff does other stuff

that knockout video is really something else

love her verse on the drake album though!

oh and 'your love' is pretty great too. kinda problematic how easy it is to forget it's supposed to be her big single right now, though?

anyway i think i met him in the sky
when i was a geisha he was a samurai
somehow i understood him when he spoke thai

historical liberties aside, i like what she's doin thur

"embellishments" is a much kinder word than "affectations", which could also work

historical liberties aside

lol, minaj has never exactly been accurate in her references. "i be out in china spendin yenz'z'z"

i hate "your love" and it's weird to me that it's somehow become her first proper hit - i really hope she doesn't pursue this route any further