Nicki Minaj is on a roll. Her new track "Anaconda" is the most talked about track this month, and that's without us even hearing a word. And in even more recent news, she's part of "Bang Bang," a track with Jessie J and Ariana Grande that debuted with 230,000 downloads last week, the second highest total for a new single during 2014.
It's arguable whether there's a "primary" performer on "Bang Bang," so for sake of fairness, we have to consider everyone a guest as well as a headliner. Minaj has been doing plenty of guest appearances thus far in 2014, including an upcoming slot on Wiz Khalifa's "True Colors." We took another listen to all of the emcee's side appearances from this year and ranked them accordingly.
09) "My Nigga (Remix)" by YG
"My Nigga" has set an especially low standard for the obnoxious trend in hip-hop of carrying an entire verse simply by adding the titular pronoun to the end of a line, therefore creating a crappy A-A-A-A-A ad infinitum rhyme scheme. Minaj avoids the trend in her own verse but draws a line between men and women by replacing the offending term in her bars with "bitches" instead. So barely shaking up the formula and sounding a little more ridiculous as a result. Not her best work.
08) "Rock Star" by Future
Minaj stumbles coming out of the gate, repeating the repeating rhyme scheme error, only this time using the word "it." Fortunately finding her flow after a few bars, Minaj demonstrates the difference between a "n---a" and a "bitch," being that the former only refers to men. Ah...duly noted. She makes a cheesy product placement pitch on this verse for Future, referencing her line of moscato wines, Myx.
07) "Danny Glover (Remix)" by Yung Thug
Unlike a certain YG remix, Minaj doesn't have to go up against talent such as Lil Wayne in the "Danny Glover" reboot. Yung Thug sets her up for success and she gets it done. Women are constantly the object of objectification in hip-hop and Minaj uses this case to show up Thug at his own game, using her suitors as one-offs and throwing them away. The best moment comes when the emcee threatens to be "f----n' ya wife" to a dude. No male rapper would be comfortable even joking about himself being gay, so Nicki gets points for having the backbone to deliver such a line.
06) "So Bad" by Cam'Ron
This is Minaj's shortest performance of the year so she doesn't have much room to make mistakes if it's going to be quality. She plays the jilted former lover of protagonist Cam'Ron and gives an even-keeled performance while holding down the role.
05) "Touchin' Lovin'" by Trey Songz
Another case where Minaj doesn't quite get the time to deliver a powerhouse performance that we know she's capable of. And it's a shame because you can tell that she's really got her flow working while touching upon one of her favorite subjects: sex. We don't say that lightly; male rappers have long gotten off giving lurid descriptions of their conquests and Minaj is making continues to make waves by demonstrating that women can talk dirty as well.
04) "Animales" by Romeo Santos
A guest spot for one of the biggest names in Latin American music doesn't necessarily require you to act the part. In fact, Minaj's play on the Puerto Rican accent is rather uncomfortable. The biggest star from the commonwealth doesn't seem to mind however, so we guess it was all in good fun. The vocal jokes was the only screwing around she did with this guest verse, mixing a spicy spit with her well-established second talent: carrying a melody.
03) "No Flex Zone (Remix)" by Rae Sremmurd
This remix hardly features any lyrics from the obscure headlining act (an Atlanta group...it's "ear drummer" spelled backwards) so it's as if Minaj is headlining the joint. Which works just fine for her. It's one of the only guest spots during 2014 where she allows herself some fun with funny voices, letting almost five different personalities come forth in turn. It's a performance that pushes Pusha T to the back of the track and leaves him there.
02) "Flawless (Remix)" by Beyoncé
The newest addition to the Minaj guest-spot collection is also one of the hottest this year. Beyoncé has plenty of attitude to go around but her guest in this remix just overflows with the stuff. The first half of Minaj's performance comes at an unusually slow pace for the performer, which ends up making her blistering second half seem so much more dramatic. Our only issue is that the headliner's message seems to be that women should love themselves and Minaj seems more interested in setting the pair apart from more ordinary members of their sex.
01) "No Love (Remix)" by August Alsina
Minaj's verse on the Alsina remix may not be as grand as that in her "Flawless" remix but it stands out for the way she manages to stay on point, not just with her verse but with the entire song. The emcee realizes she's a boss and more often then not she can't avoid reminding us and/or everyone that it's true. Here she plays into her role, aiming to capture the heart of a man (Alsina) who believes he can't be tamed. She lays claim to being the "créme de la créme" but doesn't use it as an excuse for dropping Alsina's sorry ass, but rather why she's worth reforming himself for. She manages to get out of the track without referencing her personal wealth or hip-hop accomplishments for once.
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