After a solid four year gap, many patiently await the coming of Nicki Minaj’s fourth studio album Queen which originally had a release date set for tomorrow (June 15), but was delayed to August 10, due to her perfectionist persona. Speaking on that, because of the aforementioned persona, the Queens-founded rapper is not fond of trap music, nor is she a fan of the current New York sound. Plus, she is not trying to follow or copy the trend, but keep the New York sound enhanced and obstinate.
In a recent interview with Elle, Minaj revealed her true feelings about the current state of New York Hip-Hop. Of course, a lot of this has to do with the rappers involved and she couldn’t help but express the reality of its sound and the direction she took with her upcoming make, Queen. The Pinkprint maker recognized the appropriation of trap music in Hip-Hop and the pressure upcoming New York artists face when attempting to merge with the status quo, by submitting to the southern fated tone.
“The truth of the matter is, trap has taken over so much that even our New York rappers are doing nothing but trap songs, because they feel that that’s the way to make it,” said Nicki. “They’re rapping like people from down south.”
Nicki took her six-month social media hiatus for a reason. The “Chun-Li” spitter revealed to Elle that during the lapse, she discovered the rap persona she apparently lost and basically went into a respective chamber of creativity and eventually manifested to contents of Queen. “I went through a moment where I got to know myself again, and then I went through a moment where I got to know myself as the rapper again. And then I locked [myself] in the studio”—see?—“ and I didn’t want to leave,” Minaj admits. “Spiritually, I’ve experienced more growth in the last six months of my life, of my career, than I have in the last eight years.”
She also made it very clear to her newly hired producer, J. Reid to mold her craft into the classic boom-bap sound. She rejects the trap sound with confidence and aims to set the tone of the New York sound back to its respective place. “It has to be boom BAP. I don’t want to do no trap shit ’cause everybody’s doing that shit.” With that being said, there is a high expectation for Nicki’s next installment to place an avid representation of traditional rap.
