Nicki Minaj - Stupid Hoe

It’s fair to say my feelings are divided about Nicki’s Stupid Hoe. On one hand, it’s nice to see her ‘going in hard’ again, returning to the brawling intensity that made Roman’s Revenge a real standout. But equally, Stupid Hoe feels almost too much. It’s a pushing of cheap titillation and lewdness, seemingly just for the sake of it.

As much as Nicki might want to be a controversial artist, at the level she has built herself up to, she also exists profoundly as a popstar – and Stupid Hoe verges over the line into alienating. The video is a whole kettle of fish in its own right, a flickering, snapping explosion of colour and editing that flashes Nicki in a variety of provocative guises missle-style into your eyes. And as much as we love Nicki for her bombast, in this instance, like the song itself, it all feels like one step too far in the wrong direction.

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.