‘Freedom’ – the new single from Nicki Minaj – is unlike her other recent songs. With a more stripped back sound and lyrics which ponder her success and position in the public eye, her latest release is less commercial sounding than the likes of ‘Starship’ and ‘Pound The Alarm’, but I’m not buying this supposedly conscientious new Nicki.
Contrary to what songs like ‘Beauty and a Beat’ would have you think, Nicki Minaj can actually rap; she is signed to ‘Young Money’, the label which spawned Lil’ Wayne and Drake, and in 2010 her feature on the Kanye West song ‘Monster’ was widely regarded as the verse of the year. But her recent songs have been cringe worthy. Bikini-clad in her videos, lately Nicki has been releasing shallow, sexually explicit songs that have sounded like bad Lady Gaga impressions.
She is marketed as the saviour of female hip-hop, but many fans have been left feeling disappointed at her recent commercial tendencies. She acts like her music is ironic with her funny voices and colourful wigs, but her Guetta-worthy beats and their target audience show that her supposed ridicule of gimmicky pop culture is a gimmick in itself.
‘Even now I think do I really want this fame?’ she raps in ‘Freedom’, having just churned out commercial songs for months… No deal, Nicki.
3/10
