"People often chuckle when I call Nicki Minaj a historical figure, as I have done, repeatedly, for the past few years. They laughed less in 2015. Though she has been a prominent figure in music since at least 2010, when her frothy pop single “Super Bass” landed her not only on the rap charts but also on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, something shifted in 2015. All of a sudden, it seemed, she had stopped rapping with the cartoonish cadence, the zany alter egos, the cotton-candy pink wigs. There was a new Minaj on the scene—a cooler, smarter, more fearless, and, ultimately, more beloved Minaj.
The album that prompted this shift, last December’s The Pinkprint, has the deepest and most skillful lyrics of Minaj’s career, with songs about disillusionment and mortality bumping up next to feminist odes to self-pleasure. It is an intense, sexy, at times hilarious listen, with tracks as catchy as they are poetic. The Pinkprint, which had its one-year anniversary last week, cemented Minaj as a multifaceted artist to be reckoned with, as capable a rap and pop star as we have seen. Finally, she was delivering on her promise, not only as the most powerful woman in hip-hop, but as someone who could stand toe-to-toe with any diva, including innovative pop heavyweights like Beyoncé and Rihanna.
The Pinkprint and its success came as a relief to longtime fans like me. There was a time, not so long ago, that I worried about Minaj’s career. Anyone who had been watching her since the early days of her rap mix-tapes knew that she was a woman with incredible artistic potential. Her flows were quick, clever, and funny, and she possessed a magnetic presence in music videos and interviews." Vogue Magazine about @nickiminaj **** 🙏🏽❤️
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