S. Samuel
After fighting the negative notion of being too pop throughout this year, Young Money's Nicki Minaj recently emphasized a return to her early rapping days.
Referencing her new Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded the Re-Up as motivation, Minaj said fans can expect more of her spitting skills on display.
“I am in a stage right now, where that’s just how I feel,” she told MTV News, turning the word feel to “fill” in that Southside Jamaica, Queens way. “I’m on my rap sh– — that’s just how I feel right now. But I’m [also] saying that there’s nothing wrong with being diverse. [But] where I am right now? I’m back to my popping sh–!” she declared before cracking up into a contagious fit of laughter. “The Re-Up is what I do naturally. It’s what I came into the game doing,” she emphasized. “So I actually don’t have the fears about it being critiqued. I guess when I started doing dance songs, then there was more like a question mark there, ’cause I had never done it.” (MTV)
Recent rumors and gossip also suggested Minaj gave up pop to build on her rap image.
I’m not sure how this is going to work out, because Nicki has gone so far in to the mainstream of America that she’s pop as in popular. So, the latest rumor is that Nicki Minaj is looking to get back into the street side of Hip-Hop! Remember when she won everybody over with the BET Cypher? Yeah, she got gangsta with that! Anyway, what do you think that she is going to return to hardcore rap!? And do you think she can? Maybe she can link back up with Fendi or something. Sike. (All Hip Hop Rumors)
Earlier this year, the rap star acknowledged fans’ worries about her placing too much emphasis outside of hip-hop.
“I would hope that people know at this point that I’m smart enough to know what I’m doing all the time. But I guess they still kind of waiver. I always intended on putting out something urban after ‘Starships,’ because I knew ‘Starships’ was a monster,” she explained. “Maybe it would be a problem if I couldn’t deliver records like ‘Roman Reloaded,’ but I can. I write my own lyrics. Once again, I write my own lyrics. So it’s never a problem. Whatever I feel, I can write, I can create it. So I’m good. I think people sometimes get blown away by the magnitude of the pop stuff, because the pop stuff, it reaches everywhere and then I feel like my hip-hop fans or hip-hop culture starts getting a little bit afraid that I’m going to leave. But this is who I am. I’m not going to change – I’m just adding on to my brand. And if you don’t understand that, then it’s probably why you don’t travel and you don’t see the world and I probably can’t even have a conversation with you anymore.” (Hot 97)
She also rapped about the pop label on her “Roman Reloaded” anthem last winter.
“I guess I went commercial, just shot a commercial,” Nicki raps, “when I flew to the Center, I ain’t fly commercial/And the ad is global, ave is local/Where we shot it, was a lot of different agriculturals/So I laugh at hopefuls/Nicki pop? Only thing that pops is my endorsement opp.” (“Roman Reloaded”)
Check out a recent Nicki Minaj interview:
