The ‘Bad Guy’ Nicki Minaj Is Back
The ‘Bad Guy’ in rap Nicki Lewinsky or Nicki Minaj, reintroduces herself with yet another nickname: “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.” The rap veteran piles punchlines, bars, and subliminal disses over trap drums and production sampling a 2003 classic. The barbie Onika Maraj in her first release of the year gives us countless bars to dissect.
“Red Ruby Da Sleeze” Samples Lumidee
Firstly, the self-proclaimed Queen of Rap returns took a nearly seven month hiatus from music. Her prior release “Super Freaky Girl” would break barriers, prompting her to be the first woman since Lauryn Hill to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” similar to her previous single “Super Freaky Girl” is an interpolation. The 2003 record “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh” by Lumidee inspired this dancehall beat.
However, this is not the rappers first rodeo in the dancehall genre as tracks “Likkle Miss,” “Megatron” and album Pink Friday… Roman Reloaded authenticated her versatility. And as always, she tackles beat switches with ease, delivering effortless flows, and flaunting her singing as well.
“Red Ruby Da Sleeze” is nothing short of an entertaining, vivacious track that is impossible not to groove to. A melodic hook and cutthroat bars are simply Minaj’s forte. “Who the fuck told bitches they was me now? (Uh-oh, ooh) / I knew these bitches was slow, I ain’t know these bitches senile (Ooh),” she savagely writes. Since the beginning of her career Nicki has called out her copycats for stealing her sound, fashion and individuality.
A Deep Dive Of The Bars
Though Minaj took a break from social media and music for a few months, she pays close attention to her rap counterparts. And she’s back like she never left, delivering clever wordplay and rhyme schemes. “When the Queen leave, bitches wanna come out like a cockroach (Uh-oh, uh-oh) / Until I’m cookin’ in the kitchen like a pot roast / That new Spectre, we don’t fill pot holes (Uh-oh, uh-oh) / Dorito—bitches mad that they not chose.” The dorito bar signifies girls being mad that they are not in Nicki’s spot, hence “not chose,” which sounds like nachos. And doritos are a type of nacho.
Another example of the rappers clever wordplay is on the second verse of “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.” “Desert Eagle if ya n**** acting super bold.” Nicki refers to the football team The Eagles which competed in the 2023 super bowl held in the Desert. And so, she uses wordplay with super bold, which sounds like “Super Bowl.”
“Big truck but I’m alone like Post though (Uh-oh, uh-oh) / Call Malone and tell him I’m goin’ postal (Brr)”
Nicki references rapper/singer Post Malone and his song “When I’m Alone” and basketball player Karl Malone. Malone’s nickname is “The Mailman” hence “goin postal” which is a phrase that means to become angry or violent.
Megan Thee Stallion Diss Speculation
Additionally, the snippet of “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” teased earlier last week caused speculation. People insisted a specific bar was a diss toward rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Minaj raps, “ Seven-hundred on ’em horses when we fixin’ to leave (Uh-oh) / But I don’t fuck with horses since Christopher Reeves (Uh-oh).” The word “Stallion” in Megan’s stage name symbolizes an adult male horse. Minaj also references Christopher Reeve who was left paralyzed on May 27, 1995 after falling off a horse. Megan Thee Stallion was born that same year on February 15, 1995. Allegedly, Nicki does not mess with Megan Thee Stallion, ever since she was born in 1995.
The melody-drenched chorus reminds us no one can end Nicki’s reign in rap music, and if you choose to diss the rapper, she will destroy you. Overall the melodic hook feels out of place in my opinion, but the bars are the main focal point. With “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” Minaj reminds us of the true essence of rap music- bars, flows, and dissing.
