Just to add on a bit, previously, Pete Rosenberg called Nicki Minaj a sellout following the release of her latest music, ‘Starship’. The below quote was taken from Funk Flex’s recent interview with Nicki Minaj (of which I’m having a hard time finding the audio):

I would hope that people know at this point that I’m smart enough to know what I’m doing. I always intended putting out something urban right after ‘Starship’ because I knew ‘Starship’ was a monster. I didn’t feel the pressure to be honest. I feel really, really good. I feel like Hip-Hop cares enough that they have something to say and I remember when I was hoping that somebody had something to say about me on the radio or cared enough. Maybe it would be a problem if I couldn’t deliver records like ‘Roman Reloaded’, but I can. Once again, I write my own lyrics so it’s never a problem. Whatever I feel … I can write and I can create it, so I’m good.

I think that people sometimes get blown away by the magnitude of the pop stuff because the pop stuff reaches every where. Then I feel like my Hip-Hop fans or Hip-Hop culture starts getting a little bit afraid that I’m going to leave but this is who I am. I’m not going to change. I’ve just added on to my brand and if you don’t understand that then it’s probably why you don’t travel, you don’t see the world and I probably can’t even have a conversation with you anymore.

[Roman Reload] is not about anyone in particular. My fans, they’re voices are the loudest voices. A critic has never meant a thing to me and that’s why I keep winning. So we’re really good on this side Flex and ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” drops April 3rd and the Barbz and Romanz Empire will be good, really good.

A small-but-committed group of writers, bloggers and videographers that (mostly) exist and function all over the D.C. Metro area.