“Hopped off the boat I am such an immigrant, why he get Nicki Minaj tattoed on his ligament….we do it early like cheerios and a bagel, I feel freer than the slaves on the railroad.” For those of you who listen to Lil Wayne, you might know Nicki Minaj as that one girl off Lil Wayne’s “Da Drought 3” cut “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.”
But for those of you who aren’t big into Lil Wayne, chances are you haven’t heard much of her unique female flow, seeing as she was signed to Young Money Entertainment and until recently hadn’t received much critical reception.
“Beam Me Up Scotty,” Minaj’s third and most recent mix-tape, makes Missy Elliot’s career look like Hannah Montana. Teaming up with Minaj on this mix tape are Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Busta Rhymes, Bobby Valentino, Drake, Jae Millz, and more. Some of the biggest names in hip-hop come together to bring you one of the most original, tongue twisting, lyrical genius mix tapes I’ve seen since Wayne’s “Da Drought 3.”
“Beam Me Up Scotty” borrows Rihanna’s “Mind on My Money,” V.I.C.’s “Get Silly,” and Drake’s “Best I Ever Had,” and basically reincarnates all of them with a simple verse or two. With raw rhymes like “So I got a bad b**** mentality, cause I just came from another galaxy, I be with the President up in the White House, if we in the Oval Office then it’s lights out.”
I don’t care what anybody says, Nicki is going to be the next big thing under Lil Wayne’s wing, and alongside the all-star cast of Young Money Ent.
Forget even mentioning Minaj’s name alongside female “rappers” like Lil’ Kim, Queen Latifah, Eve, and Da Brat. Although Da Brat was the first female rapper to have a platinum album, yet I guarantee 95 percent of people reading this could not name one of her songs.
Now you may not know Nicki yet, but then again I don’t see why you would. Her debut album doesn’t drop until 2010. That’s beside the point though. Once you hear Nicki, you won’t be able to get enough of her. This mix tape came out in April, and I’m yet to put it down.
Every track kills it, whether she’s with Lil Wayne or Gucci Mane, or she’s just thanking everyone who ever believed in her. So for anyone who enjoys a different style of rap (or at least something we’re not used to yet) “Beam Me Up Scotty” is the perfect download. As for the rest of you, in the words of Nicki, “Haters are my motivaters.