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Nicki Minaj opened her fourth plant reader, Queen, in dramatic fashion “ Who you gettin ’ at Nicki? ” she asks, before responding, “ Watch them c, ts learn. ” From the jump, it’s clear that Minaj isn’t only coming for her rival womanish hosts, but also the men who have abandoned her heritage and tone- worth. The reader’s title speaks for itself, as Minaj sought to assert herself as the reigning Queen Of Rap nearly a decade after her triumphant debut, Pink Friday.
In the times following her 2014 release, The Pinkprint, the pop, and hipsterism- hop climates had both dramatically changed – as had Minaj. The fabulous MC had come tabloid fodder for her public carps and posterior relationship splits, and Queen documents the highs and lows of that trip in a majestic world that only Minaj could produce.
‘ All you bi, hes wan na look like me ’
To protest off her Queen period, Nicki Minaj released two mates, “ Barbie Tingz ” and “ Chun- Li, ” proving that the pop- crossover artist still had bars. “ Barbie Tingz ” demanded homage from hipsterism- hop’s beginners with the line “ Let’s be real, all you bi, hes wan na look like me ”. Evocative of Minaj’s early mixtape days, the smash- bap- centric single came an instant fave for its further road- acquainted vibes.
To limit that off, “ Chun- Li ” came Queen’s functionary first single, introducing a new persona that references an burro- remonstrating character from the Street Fighter videotape- game ballot. Over a hitting saxophone and sporadic gongs, Minaj reminds her detractors, “ Ayo, I been on, bi, ch, ” and embraces the notion that “ They paintin ’ me out to be the bad joe ”. Her new illustrations matched the instigative station of her music, with Minaj looking like the spitting image of Lil ’ Kim on the single’s cover art. ‘ Chun- Li ’ peaked atNo. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, an emotional comeback for an artist whose last proper release had been four timesago.Leading up to Queen’s release, Minaj teased out three mates, including “ Rich Sex, ” featuring her longtime collaborator and tutor, Lil Wayne; the pop- reggae collab track “ Bed, ” with frequent mate Ariana Grande; and the controversial Tekashi 6ix9ine smash “ Fefe ”. The ultimate garnered important attention due to Tekashi 6ix9ine’s legal troubles, but also for the inarguable show- stealing verse from Minaj, which saw her in rare lyrical form.
