“Super Bass,” one of the tracks from the deluxe version of Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday,” sort of encapsulates one of the major issues with the rapper, in that she and her team are trying to establish her hard as a pop singer too. It’s a problem, to these ears, but for Minaj it may be a solution — to bring her to large-scale superstardom, fit for, say, a Britney Spears tour.
The video to the track, released today, features Harajuku Barbie in various eye-popping accoutrement including thigh-high lace-up Docs, push up bras and unbuttoned jorts, sexy bathing suits and writhing on an ice-sculpture motorcycle (cool, but ow!). Sometimes she dallies around a crew of men, sometimes she vying for them. It’s a lot of the same moves you’ll see in rap vids that make mere sex objects out of women, but then Minaj throws in a few power moves to playfully remind you who’s boss. It’s kind of a mess. The black-lit portion is pretty cool-looking, though, thanks Crazy Eyes.
Her raps are a little redundant, nothing new to see here, which is why it was bonus material and not the core crop. But then there’s the Hook, that ever-required Hook that is now lodged into my summer-lusting mind. It’s a fit replacement for “Moment 4 Life,” thank goodness.
Nicki’s Brit stint starts in June, all dates here.
[Video after the jump…]