After abandoning social media accounts for almost three months, Nicki Minaj came back better than ever with two new songs.
The pressures of social media certainly don’t vanish for celebrities, and rapper Nicki Minaj took it upon herself to take a social media hiatus during the production of her latest songs, “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz.” Without surprise, both songs hit Billboard’s Hot 100 list within the first day of being released. The two instant hits have their fair share of aggressive dissing of anonymous people that will keep listeners guessing. The beat of “Chun-Li” carries Asian undertones and is classic Nicki with contagious lyrics. Combative lyrics from “Barbie Tingz” briefly explains her reasoning for her social media break: “Had to come off IG so they can’t stalk me, All they do is copy looks, steal music too.” Minaj thought it was important to be clear-minded when writing these songs and put all distractions aside. She explained to Zane Lowe of Beats 1 radio show, “But most importantly, I just wanted to have fun again, I wanted to go into the studio and have fun without giving a s**t about… I didn’t want to see anything. I wasn’t only not posting, I took all forms of social media off my phone, and it actually was the most genius decision I ever made.” Eliminating distractions and being in an upbeat environment appears to be Minaj’s recipe for a top-charts rap song.
In the same interview, Minaj claims her social media cleanse was a brilliant idea: “I needed to focus. I wanted to make sure I was writing something that was meaningful to me and that would inspire and captivate my audience.” Both “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz” clearly showcase her ability to rap, without any need for featuring artists.
The queen of rap also teased that an upcoming album, world tour and a documentary are all in store for the future. Minaj’s commendable decision to escape from social media for a while is something fans can learn from.
