Top 10 Epic Nicki Minaj Verses

Let’s be honest here: Bottoms Up would have been nothing without Nicki Minaj. In what is otherwise quite a standard club song, Minaj comes barrelling in to save the day with an incredible verse full of stereotypical girly voices, baby talk, explosive frustration, and constant tempo and tone changes. It’s a brilliant technical performance that shows a lot of personality, not just in the variety of voices and personas she puts on, but the way she commands the beat and wills the song to her liking. Trey Songz’s name may be on the song, but “Bottoms Up” belongs to Nicki.

Look, we love Drake, but Nicki steals the show here. “Up All Night” is yet another song in which Nicki upstages the headliner, and in this case, she does it with ample personality and great flow. While Drake may have set up the tone and style of the song, Nicki perfects it with her flow and creative flourishes, such as stuttering in time with the beat in the middle of her verse. Her scathing personality also shines through with some hilarious lyrics, including “I look like yes and you look like no.” It’s just another example of Nicki being one of the most charismatic rappers in the biz.

There are very few songs that showcase Nicki’s unique style and personality quirks like “Get Like Me”. She opens her verse with some incredible lyricism and bizarre yet unique rhyming, such as the fantastic opening line “I’m the shizzniyee/You should follow my example – bitch i.e.” She also displays a great amount of confidence throughout the verse, and when it comes to Nicki, we think her ego is justified. She also flows over Pharrell’s wonderful beat, proving that the two have marvelous chemistry and should work together more often.

When it comes to Nicki Minaj, we usually think of material wealth, a bad girl attitude, and lots of confidence. It’s not often that we get to see her vulnerable side, which is why the second verse of “All Things Go” is so special. Nicki forgoes the usual personality flourishes and creative rhyming stanzas to morosely reflect on the death of her cousin, losing touch with her family, the troubles of fame, and popping pills. Usually her lyrics talk about her wealth and rapping skills, but with All Things Go, it’s clear that this fame and success has taken its toll.

Here’s a lesson – don’t ever diss Nicki Minaj, because she will not let it slide. While she collaborates with both Drake and Lil Wayne, this song belongs entirely to Nicki, as she scathingly and brilliantly responds to Remy Ma’s diss tracks “Shether and “Another One”. Nicki viciously attacks on all fronts, including Remy Ma’s lackluster sales, her time in prison, her abandoning her son, and her hypocritical plastic surgery, while comparing her looks to Martin Lawrence’s character Sheneneh. No matter whose side you’re on, there’s no denying that Nicki knows how to talk some serious trash. And it is damn entertaining.

Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj are a duo gifted to us by the music gods. While their “Flawless Remix” was fire, we must give the edge to “Feeling Myself” due to the sheer technicality of Nicki’s verses. The third verse contains all the usual Nicki Minaj trappings, including insane amounts of confidence, tone, time and voice changes, unique rhyming schemes, and some creative flourishes, such as the extended “laser.” In the middle of this verse, Nicki claims that she is a “rap legend,” and when she’s dropping insane verses like this one, it’s hard to argue with her.

Super Bass is one of Nicki Minaj’s most popular and commercial songs, but it still contains some insane rapping. The pop production and Nicki’s flow work in tandem to create one of her most instantly recognizable and catchy verses. Nicki spits absolute fire during the first verse, rapping with incredible speed and technicality while also utilizing her gift for changing tones and flow on the fly. There are so many words and rhymes packed into this one verse that it’s a sort of challenge for any Nicki Minaj listener – if you can nail this one, you’re a true fan.