Nicki Minaj is likely one of the most prolific feminine rappers of our time. Since her mixtape debut within the late 00s, the Queens native set the stage for artists like Cardi B and Doja Cat with attention-grabbing wordplay and a fiery persona, which she derived from 90s influences like Cunning Brown and Lil Kim.
Minaj’s journey formally started along with her 2010 debut album Pink Friday, which mixed the lyrical rawness of earlier mixtapes like 2007’s Playtime Is Over and 2009’s Beam Me Up Scotty with forward-thinking, catchy manufacturing. Singles just like the inspiring “Moment 4 Life” that includes fellow Younger Cash artist Drake, the victorious “Fly” with Rihanna, and the braggadocio aptitude of “Did It On ‘Em,” Pink Friday showcased Minaj’s potential to create easy pop-rap hits. However “Super Bass,” the album’s fifth single, shortly blossomed because the rapper’s defining second.
Hearken to Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” now.
Compared to the vast majority of Pink Friday, “Super Bass” is strictly sticky-sweet, bubblegum pop. That’s no shock when the co-writer right here is Grammy-nominated songwriter Ester Dean (Rihanna’s “What’s My Name?” and Katy Perry’s “Firework”) and manufacturing is dealt with by Kane Beatz (Younger Cash’s “BedRock,” Trey Songz’s “Bottoms Up”). Switching between an harmless sing-song refrain and catchy rap verses, she confesses being head over heels in love: “Boy, you got my heartbeat running away/Beating like a drum and it’s coming your way/Can’t you hear that boom-ba-doom-boom, boom-ba-doom-boom bass?”
“‘Super Bass’ is about the boy that you are crushing over,” Minaj instructed MTV Information whereas on the set of the video. “And you kind of want to get your mack on, but you’re taking the playful approach.” The video encompassed that playful nature, with Minaj and her crew of dancers sporting matching outfits (full with the rapper’s signature Barbie-pink hair) as they flirt with muscled-up males.
“Super Bass” was a smash: it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Sizzling 100, changing into the rapper’s then-biggest single. The accomplishment doubled because the highest-charting rap hit by a solo feminine artist since Missy Elliott’s “Work It” in 2002. The triple-platinum Pink Friday topped the Billboard 200, making her simply the fourth feminine rapper to perform that feat. Minaj’s success was partly as a result of buzz surrounding “Super Bass,” which was set off by Taylor Swift three months previous to its launch.
Throughout a radio interview with Nashville’s 107.5 in February 2011, the pop star performed the comparatively unknown Pink Friday deep lower. “I remember being at a hotel and watching Taylor Swift on my laptop, and being like, ‘Wow, she rapped every single word,’” Kane Beatz recalled to Billboard in 2019. “It became a viral thing that girls wanted to show that they could rap the whole verse.”
From there, the snowball impact started. Selena Gomez later shared her cowl on YouTube and Minaj joined Swift onstage throughout her Communicate Now tour’s Los Angeles cease. Most notably, cousin duo Sophia Grace and Rosie’s viral cowl caught Ellen DeGeneres’ consideration, who invited the British mini-stars on her daytime discuss present. Minaj later stunned the women on the present, the place they carried out the track along with her. Since its launch, “Super Bass” has been coated by everybody from Tracee Ellis Ross to Glee’s Jane Lynch and Kendall Jenner. For Halloween 2020, Lil Nas X recreated Minaj’s motorbike outfit from the music video.
Following “Super Bass,” Minaj has continued to dominate each the rap and pop worlds. She’s since dropped three albums (her newest being 2018’s Queen) and secured a handful of High 10 options, from David Guetta’s “Turn Me On” in 2011 to Ariana Grande’s “Side To Side” in 2016 and Doja Cat’s “Say So” remix in 2020. The rapper has additionally expanded into different enterprise ventures (together with endorsement offers with MAC Cosmetics and her Queen Radio Beats 1 radio present) and have become a first-time mom in late 2020.
Hearken to Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” now.
