Nicki Minaj continues to revive interest in her brand outside of the United States this week by touching down in London to shoot her ‘No Frauds’ visual.
Now tasked with competing with the UK industry’s answer to her Stefflon Don, the rapper arrived in the city hours ago and was met with what can only be described as hysteria.
The former Fifth Harmony star continues solo charge a-front of the newest issue of Fault Magazine.
It’s a busy window for the 20-year-old following her December departure from the Platinum selling band.
She’s rolled on full steam with promotion for her Billboard hit ‘Bad Things’ with Machine Gun Kelly, hit the media circuit hard, and cooked up a number of notable features.
All, she says, are leading to the crescendo of sorts that will be her own material – which we will apparently be hearing very soon.
This week, From The Vault salutes two of the most notable artists of the 00’s.
Today’s pick comes courtesy of Nelly and Pop princess Christina Aguilera and their collaboration ‘Tilt Ya Head Back.’
Issued as the second single from Nelly’s ‘Sweat’ LP in 04, the track was developed as a duet with Britney Spears which never materialized because of her management.
It was then shopped to Janet Jackson and eventually Xtina – who would end up the Hip-Pop star’s female counterpart on the single.
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The horn-heavy number was produced by Dorian Moore and Tegemold Newton and samples Curtis Mayfield‘s ‘Superfly’.
Only reaching the 58th position of the Hot 100 (after being overshadowed by Nelly’s own ‘My Place’), rumor has it promotion for the track was cooled because of Aguilera seemingly outshining Nelly on his own song.
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Little X directed the 1940’s inspired video which depicted Nelly as a dapper gangster who falls for a Marilyn Monroe esque Aguilera. The visual, together with the pair’s MTV VMA’s performance, led the press to believe that the pair were an item.
[Sidenote: It’s safe to say this was the very first musical and visual indicator of Aguilera’s next move, which turned out to be the ‘Back To Basics’ era.]
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Today, both names remain relevant in their own right – a testament to their respective staying power.
Musically, though…
We are salivating for new Christina material in a special kind of way.
Nicki Minaj‘s time in Europe has been productive to say the least.
Following a wild time in Paris, the rapper set sail for England where- much to the delight of the millions who adore her in the market- she is shooting the visual for her Remy Ma response cut ‘No Frauds.’
Following the unleashing of Remy Ma‘s Nicki Minaj diss track, the entertainer Khia took to social media to “send love signals” to Ma’s husband Papoose.
The backlash she faced for attempting to seduce the rapper prompted her to take to the internet to answer questions from the general public via a live stream.
Album sales aside, very little can be done to stop Remy Ma‘s ongoing quest to dominate Hip-Hop as she once did before her imprisonment.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that she continues to push her well-received Nick Minaj diss track ‘SHETHER’ via live shows booked to keep interest in her brand live and kicking.
How she fared during a performance of the cut in Atlantic City?
The brewing tension between Nicki Minaj and her former friends over at Maybach Music has done little to sway Rick Ross‘ opinion of her legacy.
Celebrating the arrival of his new album ‘Rather You Than Me’, Ross sat down with BET to discuss the project and to offer his thoughts on some of his genre’s pressing issues.
Of course, this made it impossible for Hip-Hop royal to avoid the ongoing battle between the brilliant Remy Ma and her versatile rival Nicki Minaj.
Chris Brown is dusting off a recent exposé and pressing on with new music.
The R&B bad boy has embarked on a somewhat start-stop roll-out of his 8th album.
Initially christened ‘Heartbreak On A Full Moon,’ there’s talk that the follow-up to 2015’s ‘Royalty’ may be called something different. Especially after C. Breezy’s latest announcement.