Nicki Minaj is a Great Lyricist

What I love about Nicki Minaj is that she’s clearly obsessed with 80s and 90s hip-hop. And in this age of impossibly expensive-to-clear samples (even for a top 20 pop artist) there is hardly a King Nicki* track that doesn’t directly (if irrevently) offer a history lesson for the attentive listener. With the notable exception of Molly Lambert’s excellent feature, Nicki Minaj’s recent work has been terribly misread. Even local favorite The Hairpin was unable to resist some #butt jokes!

Anaconda is an over the top feminist flip of the Sir Mix-A-Lot track, but Nicki’s voice actually reminds me more of “The Cars That Go Boom”. If only Nicki had been born 25 years earlier and in Kendall, Florida, I’m pretty sure she’d have been the third member of L’Trimm.

Not yet convinced? Please go back (7 years!) to Wuchoo Know a more spirited battle rhyme than nearly any since. On Blazin', Nicki pulls off as subtle and spot on a send-up of Kanye’s style than any I know while not showing him up on the track. That’s not easy to do!

* credit @rembert