Nicki Minaj has been on a hiatus for about three years now and she is finally waking up. Just a week after Cardi B’s debut album, Nicki Minaj slapped us in the face and showed us who really is the queen of rap. Nicki seems to be gaining inspiration from the new females in rap and she has stepped up her game. For a long time Nicki’s verses felt uninspiring and overdone, but on these new tracks, she experiments with new flows and personas.
This Thursday, April 12th, 2018 she dropped two new singles, “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz.”
Listen to “Chun-Li” here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zUHi8ON6PI
Listen to “Barbie Tingz” here:
Currently, fans are in a war about what is the best song but I think I am going to have to give it to “Chun-Li.” Not only are the lyrics amazing in this song, the flow and general feeling of this song are different for Minaj. I thought Roman was going to make an appearance on the track but it feels like she is doing a toned down version of him. She is definitely channeling a personality that is mad and wants vengeance- but is also above it.
The chorus is where the song really shines:
“Ayo, I been on, bitch, you been conned
Bentley tints on, Fendi prints on
I mean I been Storm, X-Men been formed
He keep on dialin’ Nicki like the Prince song
I-I-I been on, bitch, you been conned
Bentley tints on, Fendi prints on
Ayo, I been off, Lara been Croft
Plates say Chun-Li, drop the Benz off”
“Barbie Tingz” is also a really strong track that pokes fun at the new rappers in the game by stating that Nicki, Drake, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z were the original top three trendsetters. Is this a diss track for Cardi b and the Migos? Anyway, Cardi and Nicki have been in some drama lately due to a miscommunication on Nicki’s video and verse for their collaboration, “MotorSport.” I wouldn’t want to mess with Nicki because now you know she will drop one of the best songs in her career a week after your debut album release.
As she raps in the interlude,
“Oh, I get it, they paintin’ me out to be the bad guy
Well when’s the last time you see a bad guy do the rap game like me?”