In this way, Ms. Minaj is a Christina Aguilera in need of her Linda Perry, an Elton John in search of a Bernie Taupin — not to write verses, which Ms. Minaj is outlandishly capable of, but to build songs with.
All the raw material is there. By at least one measure, Ms. Minaj has had as ferocious a year as any rapper. Consider her alternate 2014 — a sharp-fanged appearance on Beyoncé's “Flawless” remix; her headspinning rhymes on the unprintably-titled song from the Young Money label compilation that’s shortened to “Lookin”; a playful verse on Trey Songz’s “Touchin’ Lovin’ ”; and song-stealing remixes of YG’s “My Hitta,” Young Thug’s “Danny Glover,” Rae Sremmurd’s “No Flex Zone,” and more. A few more of these, and you’d have a decent-length set of songs better than most any major label hip-hop album this year, including this one.
