Nicki Minaj earned a nice chunk of cash American Idol for one season and released an album full of club tracks before taking a while off and telling people that she was over the whole ‘Starships’ phase of her career and was ready to get back in the rap game, where she started. This was exciting to hear – I was always a fan of her early mixtapes and while I don’t mind the radio-friendly dance songs, I was always missing that Nicki attitude.
So, when I heard she had released a new video/single called ‘Lookin’ Ass N***a’, I was on that shit like white on rice. And then… I was kinda underwhelmed? Sure, Nicki looks hot – but no one has ever claimed she doesn’t have curves for days and a bangin’ body. Sure, it’s vaguely “artistic” in that she’s sitting in a desert, shooting guns in black and white. But the song itself, I’m just not sold on yet.
Basically Nicki uses the track to blast lazy ass guys who lie about how well they’re doing but don’t actually have anything to brag about, and goes on to claim how they’ll never get anywhere near her. I’m into that – it’s a tale as old as time, it’s female empowerment, I’m on board. I just feel like the actual verses are slightly lazy from someone who can be a REALLY good rap lyricist with great flow.
If you’re not a hip hop fan, I don’t expect you’ll like this either way – but for those of you who have enjoyed some of what Nicki’s done before, what do you think of this track? It’s certainly a stepping stone on her way back to her rap roots, but I’m just not sure this is what I was hoping for.