Sucka Free Explained

Sucka Free
Type:Mixtape
Artist:Nicki Minaj
Cover:Sucka_Free_2008.jpg
Released:April 12, 2008
Recorded:2007–2008
Genre:Hip hop
Length:56:25
Label:Young Money, Dirty Money
Producer:Lil Wayne
Prev Title:Playtime Is Over
Prev Year:2007
Next Title:Beam Me Up Scotty
Next Year:2009

Sucka Free is the second mixtape by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on April 12, 2008 by Dirty Money Records. Sucka Free features guest appearances from fellow rappers Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Jadakiss, Lil' Kim and Ransom. Production derives from Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool, Diddy, James Todd Smith, among others. None of the tracks have original instrumentals, using other productions of popular hip hop records.

Background

Just after Minaj's previous mixtape, Playtime Is Over, was released in 2007, Minaj released Sucka Free with label mate Lil Wayne after he discovered her on the Queens-made DVD series called The Come Up.[1]

Artwork

The cover of Sucka Free shows Minaj and Lil Wayne at a podium in front of a red curtain being interviewed by XXL and MTV. Minaj is wearing a gold-colored necklace and earrings, a halfway buttoned down red shirt, and striped pants similar to the ones she is wearing on the Playtime Is Over mixtape. Wayne is wearing a red garment with a silver watch and silver chains, and a black hat that reads "Young Money".

Lil' Kim controversy

In a promotional photo for the mixtape, Minaj paid homage to that of rapper Lil' Kim's debut album photoshoot, Hard Core, causing Kim to express anger on Twitter.[2] Despite Minaj calling Kim an "influence" early in her career, tensions rose between the two females with Kim calling Minaj "catty" and accused her of copying her image saying, "If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something gotta give. You help me, I help you. That's how it goes to me."[3]

Minaj responded to the situation in an interview on The Angie Martinez Show saying "She picked a fight with Foxy, then she picked a fight with Eve, then she picked a fight with Remy, then it was Mrs. Wallace, then it was Nicki Minaj", said Minaj. "Every time you in the news, it's 'cause you gettin' at somebody! Where's your music? Put your music out, and when I see your name on Billboard, that's when I'll respond to you. Other than that, goodbye. It's Barbie, bitch."[3] Minaj also went on to respond to Kim on "Roman's Revenge," a song from her debut album, in 2010 with Eminem.[4]

Critical reception

In a 2014 article, NME described the mixtape as Minaj's bang "on the door of hip-hop’s boys club" and was described as "explosive".[5] Although Minaj jumped on a "load of popular hip hop instrumentals", she successfully made every track feel like her own.[6]

Minaj's remix of Eminem and The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Dead Wrong" was seen as a standout track from the mixtape which called in "comparisons to NYC rap legends like Notorious" and eventually continued by Minaj in her third studio album, The Pinkprint, on songs such as "Four Door Aventador".[6] The song was also called a "triumph and an omen" in a Paper Magazine article, but that it was hardly comparable to Minaj's fourth studio album, Queen.[7] With high praise response from critics, Minaj won an award for Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.[8]

Accolades

|-|rowspan="1"|2008|Nicki Minaj|Female Artist of the Year |[8] |}

Commercial performance

The mixtape debuted at number 95 on Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, making it Minaj's first mixtape to chart.

Notes and References

  1. Lipshutz. Jason. Nicki Minaj Catches Eyes On Lil' Wayne's Young Money Tour. Billboard. 12 December 2010.
  2. Web site: Lil Kim Just Threw Major Shade At Nicki Minaj With One Sentence.... Alexis. Diamonds. June 22, 2018. BET. April 7, 2020 .
  3. Web site: Nicki Minaj tells Lil' Kim to get a life. MTV. August 21, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120817135419/http://rapfix.mtv.com/2010/11/22/nicki-minaj-pink-friday-lil-kim-hot-97-get-a-life. August 17, 2012. mdy-all.
  4. Web site: Nicki Minaj Reveals The Real Reason Behind Her Lil' Kim Diss On 'Roman's Revenge'. August 16, 2018. Capital XTRA. April 7, 2020.
  5. Web site: Nicki Minaj – 'The Pinkprint' review. NME. December 15, 2014 . 17 August 2020.
  6. Web site: An Introduction to Nicki Minaj's Mixtapes. Crack. 17 August 2020.
  7. Web site: Decade of the Barb: 10 Years of Nicki Minaj. Paper. 17 August 2020.
  8. Web site: Nicki Minaj - The Vogue. Vogue. October 14, 2020.
  9. Sucka Free Chart History. Billboard. 17 August 2020.