Author: Kara B (Twitter @karabrazey20)
On August 9, 2022, Nicki Minaj assembled the 5 Infinity Stones of female rap and together they proved beyond a shadow of doubt; when skill and talent collide, a rift in the moment will occur. Creating a listening experience so unique and rare, the shockwaves would be reverberating thru hip-hop culture, black culture and the music industry at the speed of sound. Resulting in a complete cultural reset and endless discourse on female rap talent.
A shift that is just the beginning for this sub-genre. Nicki Minaj has always made bold and daring moves throughout her career, while pushing herself artistically and creatively. So, no one should be surprised when Nicki takes back her narrative and flexes the ultimate power move; a unifier of exceptional female rap talent and women.
Within the past few years, we have seen jaw dropping exceptions made to the standard of female rap. Reducing the art and skill of rap to likability and boardroom created storylines, while diminishing the actual artistry needed to be a talented and respected rapper. Well, as of 3am Friday morning, the shift that has been on the horizon burst at the seams of what has been normalized in female rap and set a different tone. Talent and skill was placed at the forefront with no exceptions or caveats.
Presenting an all-star lineup of rap Queens for her “Super Freaky Girl (Queens Mix)” remix, Nicki Minaj gave a fresh jolt to her already chart-topping single. Debuting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Super Freaky Girl” has gone on to break an unsurmountable amount of records including becoming the 1st solo female rap song to debut at #1 since Ms. Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998. The record breaking single is a sample of the late great Rick James’ “Super Freak” and the remix opens to Nicki Minaj rapping “Ayo, this the Queen Mix right here. Miami, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, New York…stand da fck up!” She had already teased that portion of the remix earlier in the week as she built momentum for the drop.
We all speculated as to who the rappers would be. And as she began to play snippets of the song on Queen Radio, everyone knew, the cultural reset button had been smashed. To have 5 female rappers on a song with the GOAT herself and each artist bring anticipation and momentum for the next artist verse is an anomaly andspeaks to the volume of sheer talent Minaj assembled for the “Queens Mix.” JT (City Girls), Bia, Katie Got Bandz, Akbar V and Malibu Mitch delivered with hunger, passion, skill and execution. But most importantly, they bought their individuality and personal approach to the song.
That says a lot. It would be easy to have an opportunity to works alongside Nicki Minaj and try to replicate what you may think sounds appeasing to her. But these Phenomenal Women stood on their own talent and sense of self and held themselves down with thee “Nicki Minaj”. I can’t even begin to imagine the pressure they may have felt. We are going to dive into their verses, but we must 1st acknowledge the power in this moment.
Female rappers who write their own raps don’t get the respect they deserve. Lately, it has been normalized to downplay or diminish writing your raps and being proud of it. Not anymore. We have to acknowledge artist who push their pen. This is how the genre survives and ensures the longevity of female rappers. Authenticity. How can you win songwriting awards if you aren’t writing? The better question would be, why are you winning songwriting awards if you aren’t pushing your own pen? Writing your own raps as a female rapper, gives you ownership of your identity and craft. No one can replicate or steal your thought process or creative spark because its imbedded in you. I commend JT, Bia, Katie Got Bandz, Akbar V and Malibu Mitch for valuing what they bring to female rap and hip-hop in general. Salute ladies. Now those verses…
The remix opens with the City Girl herself holding it down for Miami, ‘J muhfkn T’. JT delivered a fiery verse that was true to her ‘City Girl’ persona but with the tenacity that matched the foundation already laid by Nicki Minaj. Drawing on Nicki’s ‘Barbie’ persona, JT raps “Pink pussy, pink coupe, no roof” in the opening line which was a great lead in for her final verse, “And I’m the princess of this shit.” That’s a stand out to me as it showed her intent at setting up ownership of the verse from the beginning. Claiming the ‘Princess of Rap’ title, JT flexed her dominance on the track with the same bravado and confidence as a young Nicki. Her verse was lyrically witty while showcasing her ability to flex her skill on such an iconic beat and ride it.
Another highlight is JT diving into Nicki’s iconic Roman flow. Showing homage can be tricky because it can come off as imitating as opposed to respect, but JT knew how to make it hers. She gave just a peak as a way of homage but also to say,“I am an artist that elevated from just a rapper”. JT has the hammer and the wrench. She will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years. Before we go any further, lets acknowledge Nicki’s adlibs throughout the song. And the production. Nicki is in her producer bag and a creative place that is just overflowing.
Bia’s flow is so effortless and smooth it almost seems as if she floats on the beat. Her cadence is enviable as she progresses thru her verse with wit and pinpoint precision.Lately the skill of rap gets placed on the backburner as people tend to gravitate toward hooks but it’s a disservice to the artist that can execute. Hopefully the genre will come back to that and we can really appreciate the ‘technique’ of being a skilled rapper. Especially for female rappers like Bia.
She opened the verse in full control of the beat rapping “I’ma take the whole thing if I’m taking the dick-And I got ninety-nine problems except for making it fit.” And like a true rapper she had fun taunting the weirdo stan account alleging the dumbest shit you have ever seen on the internet. She raps, “they want to know if we fck in a mansion, Mmm ask Nicki, If I’m in the room then shit gets sticky.” Obviously, we know Bia and Nicki together on a track is magic, (#BarBiaLives) but Bia proves it’s her talent and skillful execution that has elevated her to the ranks of being alongside hip-hop GOAT’s Nicki and J. Cole. Bia will definitely rise into the higher echelon of superstardom.
As JT and Bia carried the first two verses of the remix the momentum for Katie Got Bandz was already built. And did she deliver? She ate it with no crumbs left. This was one of the standout verses for me for 2 reasons; I wasn’t familiar with her music or sound and to the best of my knowledge, she doesn’t have the notoriety the other women have. So, when we found out she was going to be on the remix and a quick Google search, I got familiar with her quickly. Katie’s approach to the beat was authentically herself. She bought that brash Chicago bravado and took control of it. It’s to our understanding the women didn’t know who else would be on the song which makes Katie’s approach that more admirable.
Katie is a drill rapper and she didn’t water her artistry down to fit a pop beat or what she thought Nicki Minaj wanted. She stayed true to herself and flexed her ability to mold the sound to fit her. The flow switch as she transitions into the 2nd part of her verse was immaculate. She kickstarts her verse with homage to the original “Super Freak” rapping “I’m a very freaky girl so don’t bring me to mommas” which I thought suited her perfectly. Her verse was high energy and it suited well considering the original song. Katie Got Bandz is on the rise and she has proven her ability to step outside of her comfort zone while holding her own against 5 top tier female rappers. We will be hearing a lot more of Katie in the future.
It’s the Queen of Atlanta Akbar V sliding thru so charismatically as if she is the originator. I was surprised how Akbar delivered her verse. I have heard her freestyles before and she set fire to the “We Go Up” instrumental but to hear her in full rapper mode was dope af. Akbar’s enunciation and fluid delivery are the key in my opinion to her slayage. She kept the momentum of her verse going from beginning to end. As I have said before, the ladies-built momentum up for each other and seemed to feed off it without realizing it. I think that’s why this remix is so dynamic and powerful.
Each of them bought their own individuality and style to the song. If I didn’t already know who Akbar was, I would’ve called you a liar if you said she was on reality tv. She delivered her verse with the precision and skill of a seasoned rapper. From her opening lines “Told him, leave that btch alone she ain’t fckn you right, You can beat it if you wear a glove like Mike,” Akbar slid thru the rest of her verse with just as much ease.
This goes back to the point I made about recognizing the technique of rapping earlier in this writing. We have got to start highlighting the aspects of rap like penmanship and the technique to ensure our deserving female rappers get their due respect. Starting with Akbar. She just elevated the conversation.
Malibu Mitch picks up the momentum and gives us a defining verse that sets up the transition for Roman to enter. Malibu has a very distinctive flow and cadence that works well with this remix. Homage while showcasing their individuality was a recurrent theme for this remix. And Malibu’s verse was another one of my standout favorites. She begins her verse with Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” flow and she bodied it. Rapping “He wanna eat it, if he bites it, Ima turn around and fight him-I’ma put this pssy on him, have him sleepin’ like Nyquil.” Malibu executed it too perfection while maintaining her artistry. Then switches into her faster paced flow rapping “Btchs on my body cause its follow the leader”. The fastflow switch is where I think Malibu excelled on this remix. After coming off the slower “Anaconda” flow she maintained control and picked up the fast flow in preparation for Roman’s entrance. Malibu Mitch carried her own weight alongside her fellow NYer and proved why she is the one to watch in the coming months. Malibu is gearing up to be the THEE female rapper from NY.
And for the finale Roman enters the chat. We must give a shout out to Nicki’s engineer for that seamless transition from Malibu into Roman’s (Nicki) verse. She picks up the momentum as Malibu verse ends and takes it all the way down field. I mean we knew Nicki was going to eat but no clue she would devour with the same ferocity of the other women on the track having built the climax. Nicki’s verse was just as bold, brash, witty and lethal as we have come to expect from her. Rapping “I ain’t talking Spanish when I say “Senorita – Told that btch ghost writer, Yo send your reader” a moment ladies and gentlemen. When you think nothing can top that Nicki ends the verse with “I ain’t gotta beg for sympathy from the media-Eediat (idiot)”, yikes on a bike! No explanation is needed because we all know and see it. “Super Freaky Girl Queens Mix” ends with Nicki’s famous mumbling and cackling. Is the remix a hit or classic? I guess we will have to see where they move the goalpost.
This write up is longer than I intended for it to be, but it was needed. We need to uplift female rappers when they succeed and display their extraordinary talent. Particularly in this moment when they shifted the culture towards what matters, the actual talent. “Super Freaky Girl Queens Mix” is making waves based off the lyricism of the artist. No video visuals, marketing campaigns or radio DJ’s calling for us to “do it for the culture”. Fans are appreciating the art form and skillset of rap and pushing back on the notion that female rappers are simply anaesthetic. Congratulations to all of you ladies JT, Bia, Katie Got Bandz, Akbar V, Malibu Mitch and Nicki Minaj. All of you deserve the shine for this moment that is cemented in hip-hop history.