Nicki Minaj - I'm The Best

As much as the public and the Top 40 charts might love their Nicki Minaj in her most perky, poppy incarnations (Fly, Superbass), it's in her more outre, rap-heavy moments that we really see her most truthful to herself.

Indeed, it is tracks like I'm The Best that are most representative of Pink Friday as a whole - they're feisty, brawling slabs of spit-gunned raps and machined beats. This is Nicki going in hard, and she's not one to compromise with a half-hearted, lazy response. You, the listener, are in her sights.

I'm The Best wears its inflated boasts of ego plainly on its sleeve, and while this would rub prodigiously in a whole host of other US Hip-Hop artists, Nicki has the sensibilities and quirk to ensure it's always delivered with just the right hint of irony.

The result? Another stylish, swagged-up cut from the girl who's star can only burn brighter and brighter right now.

I'm The Best is released on the 5th December.

Nicki Minaj feat. Lil Wayne - Roman's Revenge

Roman's Revenge is without a doubt one of Nicki Minaj's defining moments, and if you loved the Eminem version on her album, then the Lil Wayne radio edit is a lovely little bonus. There's just so much energy, so much enthusiasm. Almost so much that it becomes cocky. But we love Nicki for it.

'Rah rah, like a dungeon dragon'. I defy anyone who listens to this song not to have this stuck in your head by the end of the day. It's genius lyrics like this that elevate Nicki a cut above all the rest. Oh, and Lil Wayne doesn't let us down either: 'I like a big wet pussy with a fork and a spoon'. Straight to the point eh?

That mechanistic machine-gun beat drives away as Nicki spits her words out - hell, it's almost Shakespearean the way she takes on her various roles in the last minute or so of the song. Slightly terrifying, rather cute and endearing, but very very cool.

The only thing I miss in this radio edit is the genius British accent outro Nicki does in the album version. 'You've gone mad, MAD I TELL YOU!' But of course, with Nicki, every inch of the madness is to be lapped up and embraced, because quite frankly, what she does with it is amazing.