Nicki Minaj is coming back with power, power.
We already knew the Harajuku Barbie was revving up for a major comeback at the tail-end of 2013 when she dropped her deliciously filthy-mouthed “Boss Ass Bitch” bootleg remix. And judging by her recent Instagrams, she’s also been stripping back her look — going from the godawful clown wigs and paint-splattered Illuminati worship of the Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded days to natural hair and ferocious lewks — the bad bitch we (or, at least, I) first fell in love with around the end of 2009.
And now, like a surprise Beyoncé album, Nicki’s just dropped a gift from the sky: “Lookin Ass Ni**a,” which is not only featured on Young Money’s upcoming Rise Of An Empire compilation, but the first taste of her upcoming studio album Pink Print.
The acidic call-out challenges the boys (REFERENCE) to get their money up and get it together above a menacingly dark beat: “I ain’t got a check for y’all, but if I’m gonna check for y’all, I’mma need a check from y’all ni**as,” she spews. The video only sends the message further, as Miss Minaj works her massive ponytail in a simple metal chair in the desert in the fiercest fashion possible, later firing off machine gun rounds.
This may not be a very commercially viable move, but it almost certainly wasn’t intended to be. Nicki’s a smart girl — almost none of those lyrics could even end up on Top 40 radio. If anything, it’s a pretty ferocious statement, and a way of shaking off the people who latched on for “Pound The Alarm”: Nicki’s not fucking with the pop sound this time around. Now just wait until the official material drops.
For now, let’s return to one of my very favorite Mixtape Minaj classics…