Although the sharp-tongued wordplay scattered throughout Nicki Minaj’s viral hit “Barbie Dreams” could be scathing if taken seriously, she says all of the rappers she named in the feisty, satirical take on the Notorious BIG classic have all been pretty good sports about it. That’s a good thing, because the hysterical new video for the track features muppet caricatures of some of her favorite guys in the rap game, upping the humorous ante.
Framed as a low-budget, knockoff version of The Muppet Show complete with a bootleg, hilariously unprepared Kermit the Frog lookalike, the Hype Williams-directed “Barbie Dreams” video features colorful muppet versions of Lil Wayne, Tekashi 69, French Montana, and DJ Khaled dancing along to the James Brown-sampling beat as Nicki herself performs in various rainbow-affected outfits in front of a simple backdrop. The low-budget aesthetic extends to these sequences as well, with Nicki allowing the backlight to show up in multiple shots.
Although Queen, the album “Barbie Dreams” was taken from, wasn’t received as well as Nicki originally hoped, it still secured a gold certification in only two weeks, while “Barbie Dreams” itself was an instant sensation, sparking a buzz on social media — a good thing for Nicki, as her name’s been associated with some not-so-flattering goings-on as well. Over the weekend, she was involved in an altercation with Cardi B which she characterized as “humiliating.” Hopefully, the “Barbie Dreams” video can help get both rappers re-focused on the music.
Queen is out now via Young Money records. Get it here.
