maybe because the UK did not really know her as the next big RAP star.
Nah, we knew. We got almost every Nicki Minaj song released in the US, and our music channels are always showing "Nicki Minaj from the beginning"-type shows, where they show all her videos and features back-to-back for 3 hours. (That's a big reason why she's become so popular - her videos are constantly played.)
It's Popjustice. He wouldn't write that unless he seriously thought it, especially given how personally close he is to Lady Gaga. I mean, this guy's already heard some of Gaga's next album - he's that close to her.