Nicki Minaj partnered with her idol and rap legend in her own right Foxy Brown on “Coco Chanel,” a swaggering single from her somewhat-surprise Queen album. The song is true to both rapper’s Trini roots, with Dancehall inspired drums fused over ominous keys. The song follows up after “Chun Li” as a much-needed diversion from the 808-based drum programming that dominates so much popular music. Both artists ride the beat with finesse, with Nicki calmly shouting out Brooklyn, Harlem and her native Southside Jamaica, Queens while cleverly dropping a reference to Biggie’s “Dreams” – which may have dually been a slick nod to the raunchy “Barbie Dreams” track also on Queen.
Foxy Brown pops up on the second half of the track in full spitfire mode, dropping a fiery verse with authentic patois that’s making Drake blush somewhere. “Nick, come f*ck it up, bad gyal a back it up,” Foxy rhymes. The track serves to simultaneously salute the women not just as a pair of hip-hop icons, but products of two of New York’s most prideful West Indian communities.
“Coco Chanel” is just one of the notable tracks on Queen, along with “Barbie Dreams,” the Eminem-featuring “Majesty” and “Thought I Knew You” with The Weeknd. You can listen to Queen below:
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