S. Samuel
New York rapper Maino recently broke down Nicki Minaj's style and said Lil Kim is responsible for sparking the "Barbie Movement."
From Maino’s perspective, Minaj will always be second to Kim as an emcee.
“Kim is always gonna be, in my eyes, the best that ever done it,” Maino said in an interview with DJ Vlad. “[Best] female in the game. The best female that ever done it. Nicki has that new energy and I’m liking that energy, I’m liking what she’s doing. A lot of artists borrow from great artists and make it they own. It’s easy for us to say Kim started the Barbie thing and now Nicki has her Barbie movement going on but a lot of times, artists borrow from artists and they expand on that so I can’t really say she’s wrong for that, maybe she was a fan of Kim’s, I’m sure, growing up. And this was a part of what she was doing that she identified with and made it her own. I’m a fan of what she’s doing — I like to see anybody do their thing, especially if I know them…I like to see people excel because I’m excelling.” (Vlad TV)
Recently, rapper Lil Cease discussed Minaj’s similarities to Kim.
“Nicki ain’t really got too much competition out there. Ain’t too many female rappers out there. But she’s a female, one that’s bringing the sex appeal back to it. No matter what Kim talked about, she had the appeal to it. Kim would dress up. She looked like a lady. Kim could rap about the hardest thing ever, but she would still dress up: hair done, she still got on the flyest stuff. Nicki is kinda taking it to that same mind frame. She’s having fun with it too.” (MTV)
Earlier this year, Lloyd Banks suggested Minaj’s style was influenced by Kim.
“[Laughs] Sheesh. I would go with Nicki right now,” he said in an interview. “Yeah, I like her as an artist. We came up in the same era, we were around the same age so I’m pretty sure one of her influences was probably Lil Kim and nothing is really reminding of the impact Kim had, since Nicki came. To have a concert and have a hundred Nickies in the front row… not too many new artists come and have a following like that. So you definitely have to acknowledge that.” (VIBE)
Working on his upcoming album, Day After Tomorrow, Maino recently released his new single “Don’t Say Nothin’.”
Today, he’s back with ‘Don’t Say Nothing,’ a cut that he’s hoping will leave his haters lost for words. Basing his boardwork around a sample from Shawty Lo‘s ‘Dey Know (Remix),’ Mistah Raja mixes strings, synths and bass-booming percussion as Maino reminds us what a crazy M.F.-er he is. Dirty Money member Kalenna steps up to the mic to vouch for the headliner’s claims of insanity, contributing a minimal but memorable hook. So, readers, does this track leave you speechless – and, if so, is that good speechless or bad speechless? If it’s the former, stay tuned; the artist’s sophomore set , Day After Tomorrow, has yet to receive a drop date from the label brass, but we’ll keep you posted. (DJ Booth)
Check out Maino speaking on Nicki Minaj below & listen to his “Don’t Say Nothin'” record below:
