I have not been a Nicki Minaj fan over the last couple of months or so. This was unusual because I normally enjoy Nicki, very much. I think she’s clever, she has a good ear for beats and hooks and, well, she can rap. She can rap damn well, in fact. (And if you’re one of those people that say she can’t, please STFU and listen to “Monster” again.)
However, since around December, the music Nicki has been putting out — all which is expected to appear on her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded — has been pissing me off.
“Roman in Moscow” is unnecessarily loud and obnoxious, Nicki’s street single, “Stupid Hoe,” is silly and “Spaceship,” the album’s official first single, sounds like a song you’d expect to hear while waiting on the funnel cake line at Six Flags.
The worst offense had to be her strange showing at the Grammys, where she performed “Roman Holiday.” Her set was some kind of half-play, half-performance hybrid, that included exorcism, dancing priests and other freaky religious sh*t.
Ugh.
I was about done with her until this morning; that’s when I first heard “Roman Reloaded.”
Good God, it’s good to hear Nicki rapping again.
The track, which features her boss Lil Wayne, sees her coming back to her old aggressive, pure-rap form. On the track, Nicki is spitting some venom to critics (like this guy) who have been getting on her for all the strange moves she’s been pulling over the last two months. On the track she raps:
“I guess I went commercial. I just shot a commercial. When I flew to the set, though, I ain’t fly commercial. And the ad is global, your ass is local. When we shot it was a lot of different agricultural. So I laugh at hopefuls, Nicki pop, only thing that pop is my endorsement, Ock. Fuck around I gotta reinforce the block.”
The track works on many levels, but the main aspect I enjoy about it is she’s flowing naturally and aggressively on here, easily out-spitting her boss (who, admittedly sounds kind of blah.)
I’m feeling this track, though, and it makes me wonder: Why, can’t Nicki just rap like this all the time?
And then I realize, she really can’t. Nicki has a reputation for being a contrarian, and it’s a role I think she relishes. It’s a shame because the music is going to suffer because of this.
The truth is being contrarian only works when it works. And basically, there has to be some kind of effortlessness attached to it. The strangeness Nicki has been doing has come across as just so forced and unnatural. She’s trying too hard, and it’s showing.
Good rap is pretty damn easy: Banging beats, tight flows, short hooks and direct statements have been the cornerstone of some of the best rap music of all time.
Adding all of these different voices and chaotic noises in the background is like adding special effects and slow motion shots to an independent movie that doesn’t really need it.
Nicki, baby, if you’re reading this, listen to me: You can really, really rap. In fact, I think you spit better than most dudes out there. Please do it more often. Kill the goofy noises and silly faces and just give us 12 “Roman Reloadeds” on your next album.
Thanks in advance.
