[New Music] Nicki Minaj feat. Cassie – The Boys
When news leaked earlier this month that Nicki Minaj would be re-releasing her 22-track Roman Reloaded album, a dark shadow was cast over the music industry. The darkness has now been turned to light thanks to the album’s lead single, “The Boys”, which features none other than musical deity Cassie.
“The Boys” is Nicki’s first flaw-free single since “Superbass”, and there’s a good reason for that: it’s Cassie’s song, “Money On Love”. The astonishing track was originally set to serve as Cassie’s “King of Hearts” follow-up, but I guess Team Minaj realized that they had no good material to lead the Roman Reloaded re-release with, so they snatched up Cassie’s smash and let her play feature artist on her own song instead.
Really, it works out for Cassie better in the end. Her music, while critically-acclaimed, was going nowhere on the charts, so hitching herself to Nicki’s inflated figure for a moment is a good move to garner some much-needed buzz.
No wonder Cassie released “Balcony” on iTunes this week!
As for “The Boys”, it’s quite different to “Money On Love”, with beefed-up production that sounds like a hip-hop block party crossed paths with a Star Wars lightsaber fight. It’s as crazy and exciting as a circus sideshow, but a lot of the melancholy of the original version has been lost in the slick production and Nicki’s autotuned rapping. I prefer “Money On Love”, but if tripped-out club bangers are more your thing, then you’ll prefer “The Boys” — it’s really just a matter of personal taste.
Honestly, “The Boys” is too good for Nicki –purveyor of crass eurotrash and ratchet rap music– Minaj, but I’ll happily swallow it for Cassie.
Dear Godney, please let “The Boys” be a “Starships” sized hit. I know that Nicki is an abomination, but do it for Cassie.
