If you are a dedicated follower of the music industry, the name Nicki Minaj will come as no news or suprise, name your favorite song and she might have probably dropped a verse on it or is currently in the studio dropping a remix to it. Before the animated faces and barbie-swagger, Nicki was an underground hip-hop female trying to make her way into the music business. A dvd recording of her found its way into the hands of hip-hop megastar Lil' Wayne and she was signed to his Young Money imprint label. Ever since, Nicki has been featured on songs by some of our favourite artists (Usher, Diddy, Rihanna, Kanye West and the list goes on). She has been able to build up a massive fan-base with her features on various songs, a pretty face and a banging body to back it up.
Though she lacks the lyrical prowess of those that did it before her (Lil Kim, Foxy Brown or even Eve), one thing is certain, Nicki brings different flavour to the female hip-hop game with her animated swagger and cross-over appeal that has caught the eye of major hip-hop MCs like Jay-Z, Diddy, Kanye West and Lil Wayne and fans alike. She has become the first female MC with the most appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 (even Missy Elliott has not achieved this feat). Her achievements are suprising and that is why her debut album PINK FRIDAY is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated albums of 2010. With her debut single MASSIVE ATTACK not fairing well on the charts, a lot of people ruled her out but she bounced back with the #1 rap hit YOUR LOVE and then people suddenly became interested in her again.
I really was not eager to listen to this album because I really did not take her seriously, but I actually find the album quite impressive. Nicki holds her own with dark hip-hop swagger and lyrics to add, with songs like the piercy, drama-starting ROMAN'S REVENGE, the confidence-infused I'M THE BEST, the Drake-assisted MOMENT 4 LIFE and BLAZING (featuring Kanye West), even though Kanye stole the shine from her on the track. She shows what I call her emotional and relaxed self on songs like SAVE ME and RIGHT THROUGH ME. The smart thing about this album is that there are tracks aimed at achieving musical crossover appeal (the annoying CHECK IT OUT with Will.I.Am and a duet with Natasha Bedingfield), which I am sure her label allowed so as to achieve a certain level of success on the pop charts. Another thing is, Nicki seems to be doing a lot of singing on this album, something I am sure will not be expected from her at all.
One thing is for sure, Nicki Minaj is the only female in hip-hop right now achieving massive success and if the others don't step up their game, she might just rule it for the next few years ahead. Many girls will be come die-hard "barbz" and some guys will love to become "ken-barbz" If you had a low expectation of Pink Friday or Nicki Minaj, she proves that she holds her own so you either love her or leave her alone.
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