Nicki Minaj’s Red Ruby da Sleeze: A Return to Monster Form

Nicki Minaj first really burst on the scene when her bars stole the track Monster from Kanye and Jay-Z on My Dark Twisted Fantasy. This close to perfect record from Kanye would be his high point as he slowly descended into misogyny and one of the most self-involved eccentric artists on Earth, while this was close to ground zero for Minaj as she rose to super stardom. Nicki Minaj has been on everything from reality TV, to guesting on some of the biggest pop tracks, to putting out her own records. In the past 5 years she has had her own up and downs, but her new track Red Ruby da Sleeze is a return to the her aggressive Gangsta Boo form that had us all fall in love with her in the first place.

Musically, Red Ruby da Sleeze is a mix of hand claps, slapping bass and some heavily post production effected looped backing vocals. It is a basic formula for most modern hip hop, but the reason it is used so much is becasue it works. Within the first few rounds of hand claps and backing vocals you find yourself bobbing your head waiting for that first big bass drop. This is not the wall of sound or complex arrangements on Travis Scott’s new record Utopia , but it’s some fun pop hip hop you would expect from Minaj.

Lyrically, Minaj is back to dropping fire bars with rhymes about El Chappo, Kelly Bundy and Marvel’s Shang-Chi. I love her flow on this track as she moves from a Gangsta Boo 90s – espue staccato flow like a machine gun to a R&B patois style chorus. Hearing the words “patois style chorus” may have you worried about a poorly dated pop trope; however, I think it really works and gives the track a smooth richness that it would lack otherwise.

Is this Minaj’s best track? No, that’s Fly with Rihanna; however, this is the best track she has put out in the last 5 years and marks a return to form. This track along with Barbie World with Ice Spice sees Minaj back on top of pop / hip hop, which is where she belongs.

Listen to Red Ruby da Sleeze