Kori Barnes 
Nicki’s back.
Did you really think that the Queen of Rap would ever stop pulling out the tricks she has up her sleeves? I think not. Nicki Minaj graced her beloved fans with one of the most anticipated and surprising mixtapes of the decade–a homage to her come up and some of the hardest tracks known to date. Beam Me Up Scotty is truly for the OG Barbz.
After Minaj teased the upcoming drop for this past Friday all last week, fans were yearning to get a snippet of what to expect from her newest drop. However, no one was prepared for her vintage tracks from 2009 to finally be available on Apple Music. Do you know how many years that her fans and “Barbz” have had to listen to the notorious “Itty Bitty Piggy” track on YouTube? Do you know how many years that fans memorized her lines for this specific track on YouTube? Personally, I never understood why her famous tracks weren’t available on Apple Music. But, our drought of not having her OG iconic tracks has finally come to an end.
One of the things that I sincerely and deeply value about Minaj is that she truly is the epitome of everything she raps about. With the leading up of teaser posts and videos for her drop, she was decked in her signature hot and pretty pinks that gave fans an insight that this might be another iconic “Pink Friday” released to her fanbase. And what’s Manaj without flaunting her wealth and looking like a complete Barbie while doing it? Not only did she send fans into a frenzy of speculating what would be on her drop, but she drastically increased the sale of Croc shoes when she wore them in an Instagram post. Yeah, she really has it like that. Even when she arrived on her Instagram live late to discuss the new music, she was late. However, best believe that one of her famous lines “When I walk in sit up straight, I don’t give a f*ck if I was late” proved to still to be true.
Another aspect of Manaj’s Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape that will only make it more valuable and memorable, is that she incorporated three new tracks with features from Lil Wayne and Drake. In my eyes, they’re practically the Holy Trinity of the rap game. The fact that Minaj and Drake both credit Lil Wayne for bringing them to the level of their success is beyond incredible. The vision he had for the “Young Money Crew” and how all three of them dominated the game–for decades–is a huge credit to his name. And honestly, Lil Wayne’s prodigy seems far from ever letting up.
In one of Manaj’s newest tracks titled “Fractions,” she discusses the gossip around her hiatus and how she’s had time to fall back and play the role of the mother and wife, but that clearly these girls and boys in the rap game need “the bad guy” back. If that’s not her legendary “Roman” alter ego trying to seep through, I don’t know what is. Throughout this track she reminds the other rappers and girls in the game, that she will always remain the blueprint, these b*tches are her sons, and that she wishes people wanted to have talent more than clout. With the leverage that social media has given mediocre artists to rise to stardom, it seems that Minaj is sick of them getting an easy pass to fly by. Something the Queen herself will always do, is call you out.
Beam Me Up Scotty has only ramped up the anticipation for her HBO documentary series that’s arriving soon. We’re seeing Minaj in a light that we’ve never seen before. As a rap legend, wife and mother, she’s bringing a different type of energy that proves her legendary status yet again.
Make sure to vote your reaction to the Beam Me Up Scotty release below!
By Kori Barnes, Junior, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
@korixnicole
