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Nicki Minaj

Black Friday vs. Roman’s Revenge

December 5, 2010 By Ashley Nuñez Leave a Comment


“She just really jumped out the window,” Nicki Minaj told Hot 97 radio host Angie Martinez, ending any speculation at whom “Roman’s Revenge” was directed towards. Released from her debut album, Pink Friday, Nicki addresses Lil Kim as a has-been, telling her “if you ain’t shitting then get off the pot.”

Selling over 375,000 albums in just its first week, Pink Friday used the release of Lil Kim’s “Black Friday” as a stepping-stone to success. “Roman’s Revenge” was the first punch thrown, turning Nicki’s ongoing battle with Lil Kim into something on wax. (More like Kim’s ongoing war against Nicki.) Kim repeatedly took shots at Nicki during interviews, saying Nicki’s eccentric style is nothing but a cheap knock off of what Lil Kim earned her fame from.

And then came “Black Friday.”

Lil Kim responded to Nicki’s lyrical slay with one of her own. Rapping over Pharoahe Monch’s “Simon Says,” Kim goes at Nicki in typical Kim Fashion: hard but not hard enough. With a few witty lines, “Black Friday” holds a dim light to “Roman’s Revenge.” Kim raps for over five minutes at what sounds more like a first jab than a response to shut her opponent up.

Props go to Kim for her few hot lines. “Aight you Lil Kim clone clown,” “Benjamin’s my daddy you Young Money bastards,”…“Come on, Queens ain’t showing you no love / I was there the other night poppin’ bottles with the thugs,”…“I mothered you hoes, I should claim you on my income tax,”… and finally “You’re not hot, you’re a burning match.” Further more, production wise, the inclusion of Nicki’s “You see right through me/ How do you do that ish” right after Kim’s “I see right through you, you’re whole shit is made of glass” was brilliant.

But the props stop there.

“I put hands on this bitch like a spa massage.” Isn’t a massage supposed to be relaxing? For someone who goes at Drake and Young Money, she delivers a few young money styled lines. Now who’s the swagger jacker?
The saying stands, if you’re going to do the same thing, do it better.

Kim on Black Friday: “Go stick your head in a tornado, brainstorm/ I drop bombs, Flex, Napalm.”

Nicki on Roman’s Revenge: “You at a stand, still, mannequin / You wanna sleep on me? Overnight? / I’m the motherfuckin’ boss, overwrite / And when I pull up, vroom, motorbike / Now all my n***** gettin’ bucked, overbite.”

The record is a smoke screen lined with a few stingers. Its nothing that would debilitate Nicki’s career and nothing that owes a response from Nicki either. Making only one reference to her pink kitty, Lil Kim would have been better off using that as a lyrical weapon towards Nicki as Kim is better known for her sexual lyrics than Nicki is.

Biggie groomed Kim, but in similar fashion, Lil Wayne did the same for Nicki. Nicki only released three mixtapes before Lil Wayne adopted her and her career shot towards fame. The difference between the two is that once Nicki broke away from the underground circuit, she took to Young Money fashion and never stopped making music. She can be heard featuring on a variety of artist’s records such as Sean Kingston, Trey Songz, Gyptian, Usher, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey. After the death of Biggie Smalls, Kim’s mentor, Lil Kim had mild success but rarely ventured out of Hip-Hop to gain any further success.

With radio shows and Internet sites a buzz with Nicki vs. Kim discussions, Hip-Hop fans are taking sides quickly. Kim’s loyal fans are supporting her valiant effort to shut the newcomer down holding strong against the band of Barbie’s standing behind Nicki in her efforts to dismiss the legend who’s attempting a comeback.

Beef battles are nothing new to Hip-Hop. Roxanne Shanté, at just 14, made her career off of a diss record against UTFO in the mid 1980’s. But round one to this 2010 catfight goes to Nicki. “Black Friday” was more like an after school playground fight than a Pay Per View Heavyweight match.

For someone who claims that she’s “in the legendary lane,” Lil Kim should have kept to her comments out of interviews and addressed them straight to Nicki. The better choice would have been to let her legacy speak for itself instead of going at against the only female left standing in Hip-Hop.

Hip-Hop is constantly evolving. When Lil Kim was at the highest part in her career, female emcees could be found throughout mainstream music. Nicki Minaj is the face of female Hip-Hop right now. For that reason alone, I support Nicki in keeping females relevant. But if Nicki claims she’s re-opening the doors of Hip-Hop for other female rappers, then why weren’t there any female emcees featured on Pink Friday?

So who do you think won the first round?

Feature: Nicki Minaj- What She Represents

September 22, 2010 By Diamond Bradley Leave a Comment

25-year-old Onika Maraj, also known as Nicki Minaj, is maybe the most important mainstream female rap/hip-hop artist working today, and she hasn’t even released an album yet.

Lil’ Kim, possibly the most famous female rap/hip-hop artist ever, has had her time. Ten years ago Missy Elliot and Lauryn Hill were both stars, but Missy plays more of a background/production role nowadays, and Lauryn took time off, leaving Kim to soak up the spotlight. But then Kim’s career tailed off, and slowly, so did the popularity of the female rapper.

Nicki Minaj could change that. With her debut album Pink Friday scheduled to be released on November 23rd, the Jamaica, Queens native has already become the most recognizable woman in rap.

Lil’ Kim exposed a reliable formula to finding success as a female rapper: selling sex. Minaj has the hips, the lips, and the body, but don’t forget about the talent. When she raps, she speaks in multiple voices, sometimes multiple personalities; she can change her flows, accents and tones, sometimes all at once. She makes for a distinctly talented rapper; Minaj does things that a lot of men can’t do, and in some ways goes beyond the strictly sexual bubble that Lil’ Kim was always seen in.

A couple of Minaj’s mixtapes, most notably 2009’s Beam Me Up Scotty, got the attention of rap superstar Lil’ Wayne, leading to her signing with his Young Money/Cash Money Records.

The Nicki Minaj Barbie Following

So far, she has managed to build up a following largely based on how beautiful she is. In her music, she refers to herself as a “Barbie,” specifically a “Harajuku Barbie,” because she “likes the Harajuku culture.” That culture, originally from Japan, is a mixture of many different types of fashion thrown into one, including face paint, flowers and other bright and colorful accessories.

Her fan following, which Nicki Minaj calls her “Barbies,” is alive and well and clearly visible in the healthy number of friends and followers she has on Facebook and Twitter, but her appeal also extends into the streets.

However, the reception isn’t all positive. Some people call Nicki Minaj fake and say that she has had plastic surgery done. Minaj’s status as the next big thing is one of the biggest topics of debate in today’s online hip-hop circles. In those same cyber circles, you may stroll across a Twitter profile that says “@IKillBarbies” or a Facebook status reading, “Gosh, I just hate Barbies!” Both statements are intended as a knock against Minaj and her fan base.

However, as rap fans know best, the streets speak the loudest. Teenage girls are her main audience, and Nicki Minaj has become a role model for many of them. Not all young girls are in agreement, though.

Thoughts from Nicki Minaj fans

“That’s a trend,” said 16-year-old Abryana Henry of Brooklyn College Academy, referring to Minaj’s looks and style. “Why would anyone want be fake and plastic?” Henry sounds innocently puzzled as she speaks. “As soon as she came from underground, everybody wants to be on her. I hate it.”

Some Nicki Minaj followers feel otherwise, saying that Minaj’s lifestyle fits who they are. Following Minaj’s example, her fans seem to be able to place anything in front of the word “Barbie” to make it their own identity. It provides an escape from their real life, and this sense of escape is maybe what causes the opposition to not believe in it so much, to see it as fake.

“She’s unique and really talented,” said Nikki Aroh, 18. Aroh went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, the same high school that Minaj attended. “She’s a good influence. I don’t see it as being fake; I see it as being real as far as a talent.”
In inner city culture, being real is important. This desire to be real goes back to the whole stop-snitching movement, where it was seen (and still is in many places) as not being okay to tell on someone or give out information to authorities, even in a matter of life and death. Since Minaj’s loud style may be seen as artificial, she loses credibility in some groups. Others don’t care; and the Barbies seem to care even less. They wear their black and blond hair proudly.

Still, is Nicki Minaj a role model?

“She’s not a role model. That’s not someone that we should look up to,” said Dana Joseph, 16 and also of Brooklyn College Academy.

Nonetheless, she is one more figure young females have to look up to these days. Nicki Minaj is, in a way, similar to a Gwendolyn Brooks or an Oprah Winfrey because of how relatable she is to her fans and the times. The love for Nicki Minaj will remain strong, and the hate shall persist as well.