The Tribune

By FARAH AFTER her shocking, raunchy performance of "Roman Holiday" at the 54th Grammy Awards and the recent singles "Turn Me Up" and "Stupid Hoe", it seems rapper Nicki Minaj is slowly moving away from her hip hop roots and crossing over to the world of pop music. The 'Pink Barbie, it seems, is slowly changing her style to appeal to a wider audience. While Nicki has shown versatility in the past, singing over pop-flavoured beats with catchy lyrics, her fans wonder if delving completely into popular music will give the femcee enough fans to stay relevant and successful. They also wonder if Nicki took the wrong cue from the success of "Superbass" when it comes to her career choices. Some believe Nicki has a better chance of remaining a force to be reckoned with if she continues to be the rapper she was introduced as in 2007. "I still listen to Nicki's 'Beam Me Up Scotty' mixtape and wonder where that Nicki went," one Bahamian fan told In Ya Ear. Nicki used to be considered a breath of fresh air, as there are no female rappers making any serious noise in the hip hop world right now; in fact, you can count on one hand how many femcees are representing women in the genre. And it seems like there will be one less now. The only problem is, with the market already swamped by too many pop princesses all trying to take the title of queen, will there even be a space for Nicki? It seems many of her old fans, both internationally and here in The Bahamas, don't think so; they want the Nicki who rapped in the streets in Queens New York to come back. "I really wish she would start rapping again. Where is the 2010 Nicki that was killing everybody. She even featured on a Jay-Z and Kanye song. I am all for a crossover, but this is just wrong. Nicki needs to stop trying to go pop," a Bahamian fan said. At this point it is doesn't seem Nicki the rapper will return any time soon, not even on her new album, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded", which is set to be released April 3. Judging by the release of new songs "Starships" and "Turn Me Up" it seems fans can expect more of a pop sound from the artist. "There are like a million and one songs out there that sound exactly like Nicki's new song 'Starships'. Sooner or later her fans are going to want more than the same thing over and over again and she is going to have to find a way to set herself apart from everyone else to have longevity," Bahamian fan Shandria said. Although Nicki may be showing her fans that she can do more than just rap, some say Nicki is crossing into a market that is already saturated. "Versatility is good, but she's over-saturating us with this pop stuff. There are so many people already saturating the industry with pop music. Nicki Minaj had a good thing going for her. She is the only female rapper in the game and she could really be something to be reckoned with. But I guess it is more about what strategy makes the most money, and I guess for her going pop will bring in the big dollars. But I guarantee I will not be around long if things are going this way," Regina said. However, another fan told In Ya Ear that Nicki might have a better chance of staying on top by going pop, as rapping was never really her strength. "She probably needs to stick to pop. I think she is much better at that than rapping. She's always been a barely serviceable rapper, the kind you might enjoy or tolerate the first listen, but realise how corny and stupid the lyrics are on the second listen."