‘Barbie Dreams’: the song that made Nicki Minaj a rap hero
Since Nicki Minaj skyrocketed to fame with the release of hits like ‘Super Bass’ and ‘Moment 4 Life’ on her 2010 debut album Pink Friday, she’s consistently reinforced her place as one of the great lyricists of the 21st century. One song in particular defends the Queens native’s position in the rap game, not only through her witty rhymes, but also by asserting dominance over her male counterparts.
‘Barbie Dreams’, featured on Minaj’s fourth studio album Queen, takes no prisoners. With a flawless flow, she launches a rolling barrage of playful insults on 19 chart-topping rappers and personalities from Drake to Young Thug, nodding to industry rumours and her personal encounters with them. Poking fun at Drake’s propensity for vulnerable, emotive lyrics, she says “Drake worth a hundred milli, he always buyin’ me shit, but I don’t know if the p***y wet or if he cryin’ and shit.”
Sampling fellow New Yorker the Notorious BIG’s ‘Just Playing (Dreams)’, in which the East Coast legend praises a list of female R&B singers he wouldn’t mind getting into bed with, Minaj flips the narrative to embarrass the rappers propositioning her or previous flings with repeated double entendres. Calling out 50 Cent in reference to the crime drama he produced, she says, “I tried to f- 50 for a powerful hour, but all that n- wanna do is talk Power for hours”.
Where BIG’s chorus notes his then existing “Dreams of f****n’ an R&B b***h”, Minaj recounts previous “Dreams of f*****g one of these little rappers”. As BIG lusts over TLC and Sade for their beauty, Minaj paints Special Ed and ex Meek Mill as interests of her past that are now beneath her due to her success: “Meek still be in my DMs, I be having to duck him. ‘I used to pray for times like this’ face-a*s when I f**k him.” After all, she is the richest female rapper globally.
Queen as an album sports mainly a reggae and trap sound with songs like ‘Ganja Burn’ and ‘Chun Li’ respectively, but her smooth overlay of rhymes and critiques of previous partners’ sexual performance on the classic 1990s beat shows Minaj can play old school, and win at it. Nevertheless, the song’s allusion to her notorious Barbie-themed aesthetic shows she doesn’t need to adhere to masculine symbols of power to do so. Better yet, her producer told Rolling Stone 90% of it was recorded in one take.
Speaking on her Queen Radio show, which ran on Beats 1 (now Apple Music 1) from 2018 to 2020, Minaj said, “You guys know ‘Barbie Dreams’ is not a diss, right?” “It’s just some funny shit. I love them. I said things about people who I know can take a joke and won’t be emotional about it.” Combined with her nonchalant delivery, which shines through in the chorus’ line “I’m just playing, but I’m saying”, Minaj’s ability to rise above rap beef while seeped in it pales in comparison to Kendrick and Drake’s scathing yet perhaps petty recent tit-for-that.
However, the first woman to put her own spin on BIG’s ‘Just Playing (Dreams)’ was, in fact, Lil’ Kim on her debut album Hard Core. On her song ‘Dreams’, executive produced by BIG who she was dating at the time, she rapped on a similar-style beat about R&B artists she had her eye on. From 2007 to 2018, Minaj and Kim were embroiled in a feud over whether Minaj’s discography paid tribute to or copied Kim’s.
However, whether it was her intention or not, ‘Barbie Dreams’ empowering sentiment pays homage to Kim, who just a day before Queen’s release said in an interview on Real 92.3, “Let each female shine.” While the song has no awards, it’s a win for women rappers across the board.