搬運自：微信公眾號【評論搬一堆】（在原文基礎(chǔ)上添加了英語原文與排版調(diào)整）

翻譯：Ocean-Ashley

校對：Ryan-Chopin

原文鏈接：https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-nicki-minaj-protects-her-crown-on-queen-710819/

一場反對被禁錮、被定型的斗爭

On her first album in three and a half years, Nicki Minaj comes out swinging. “Unlike a lot of these hoes, whether wack or lit/At least I can say I wrote every rap I spit,” she charges on “Ganja Burns.” Queen is littered with subliminal disses, and though she doesn’t name names, it’s not a leap to imagine Cardi B, Remy Ma, Lil Kim and sundry frenemies as her targets. Only ‘90s heroine Foxy Brown is allowed to stand beside her on the chiming bells and ragga rhythm of “Coco Chanel.” “They know I’m the queen,” raps Nicki over the ornery Trap rhythm of “Hard White.” “I didn’t pick an heiress.”

在她三年半以來的首張專輯里，Nicki Minaj大放異彩。“與其他大多不論是怪人還是辣雞不同，至少我可以保證我唱的每一句都是我自己寫的?！彼凇癎anja Burns”中寫道?！禥ueen》的歌里充斥著無意識的貶低之詞，即使她沒有指名道姓，但想知道她是在懟Cardi B, Remy Ma, Lil Kim 和sundry frenemies也并非什么難事。只有90年代大佬Foxy Brown才能與這位女王媲美，也只有她能在“Coco Chanel”中優(yōu)雅地編曲并賦予其獨特的雷鬼節(jié)奏?！八麄冎牢揖褪桥?。”Nicki 在“Hard White”那段饒舌中說?！皼]有任何人配成為我的繼承人。”

The centerpiece is “Barbie Dreams,” a viral revision of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Just Playing (Dreams).” While Biggie drooled over “R&B bitches,” Nicki Minaj “dreams of fucking one of these little rappers,” and cuts them down to size in the process. “Drake worth a 100 million, always buying me shit/But I don’t know if the pussy wet or if he crying and shit,” she rhymes, subtly poking fun at Drake’s sad boy persona. She crows about former beau Meek Mill haunting her DM’s, Young Thug stealing her dresses, and DJ Khaled’s portly weight—providing grist for countless memes in the process. (It’s actually her second cover of the Brooklyn legend’s 1994 track; she also remixed “Dreams” for her 2007 debut mixtape, Playtime Is Over.)

專輯中最值得一提的是“Barbie Dreams”，它是B.I.G的“Just Playing (Dreams)”進(jìn)行顛覆性改編后的產(chǎn)物。當(dāng)Biggie垂涎于那些“R&B bitches”時，Nicki Minaj在“dreams of fucking one of these little rappers（與其他的饒舌歌手尋歡作樂）”，并將其逐一擊敗?！癉rake worth a 100 million, always buying me shit/But I don’t know if the pussy wet or if he crying and shit,”歌中這樣寫到，并在Drake這個壞男孩形象中取樂。她毫不忌諱地談著前男友Meek Mill如何纏著她，DM、Young Thug偷了她的衣服，還提到了DJ Khaled的身材，成為她無數(shù)表情包的來源。（事實上，這是她第二次翻唱Brooklyn legend于1994制作的音頻小樣 ；她還將“Dreams”混音版加入自己2007年的首張混音磁帶《Playtime Is Over》中。）

Queen brings a new Nicki Minaj character: the regal, haughty monarch, a woman who insists on sword-sharpened rhymes as a prerogative for excellence. Her true-school pose may look ill-fitting for an artist who has spent most of the decade toggling between Busta Rhymes-like wackiness and Rihanna-like electronic pop. However, it has long been clear that in terms of pure bar-for-bar skills, Nicki Minaj is one of the best rappers of her generation. If she were a man, she would have long ago been crowned the best (mainstream) rapper in New York City. The question, as always, is whether she can figure out how to make full use of her incredible musical abilities.

《Queen》展現(xiàn)了Nicki Minaj的新形象：一個高高在上的傲慢女王，一位一直使用順口的押韻來追求卓越的女人。對于一個花了十年時間在布斯塔·萊姆斯式押韻和蕾哈娜風(fēng)格的電子流行音樂之間掙扎的藝人來說，讓她循規(guī)蹈矩，可能不太合適。如果就以純bar-for-bar技巧來看，Nicki Minaj在她同時代的rapper里毫無疑問是佼佼者之一。如果她是個男人，她肯定早就被譽為紐約最厲害的（主流）rapper了。但問題就是她是否知道如何將她絕妙的音樂才華發(fā)揮到極致。

Despite some spectacular moments, Queen has a flabby, meandering mid-section. Nicki’s bestie Ariana Grande shows up for “Bed,” but it can’t compare to past collabos like “Side to Side.” “Chun Swae” is too deferential to Swae Lee’s tropical pop croon; the same goes for the Weeknd’s embittered accusations to a past lover on “Thought I Knew You.” It’s a relief when Nicki retakes control for the underrated battle rap single “Chun-Li,” and the jiggly “Good Form,” the latter that finds her reaching wildly zany lyrical heights.

盡管有這些出色的成績，《Queen》也不是每首歌都讓人驚艷。Nicki的閨蜜Ariana Grande在“Bed”里發(fā)聲，但它仍比不上如“Side to Side”這樣的經(jīng)典作品?！癈hun Swae”對于Swae Lee這種熱帶流行曲風(fēng)來說又太過保守了；The Weeknd在“Thought I Knew You”表達(dá)對過往愛人憤怒的譴責(zé)。當(dāng)Nicki重掌不被看好的battle rap單曲“Chun-Li”和“Good Form”的制作權(quán)時，這讓大家又松了一口氣，而且“Good Form”可謂她瘋狂大膽的作詞新高度。

Queen isn’t the first time Nicki Minaj has spit hard with sustained force, only to hedge her bets. The first half of her 2012?album, Pink Friday…Roman Reloaded, brought face-melting highlights like “I Am Your Leader,” “Beez in the Trap,” and “Come on a Cone”; but it also included Electric Daisy Carnival bangers like “Starships” and “Pound the Alarm.” Meanwhile, 2014’s The Pinkprint found her emerging as a flesh-and-blood icon who is just as vulnerable to personal heartbreak as the rest of us, at least when she wasn’t busy shaking her ass on dumb-hot singles like “Anaconda” and “Only.” Perhaps this is how her career is meant to unfold: she reveals herself in layers, in fits and starts, always with an eye on the commercial bottom line.

專輯《Queen》并不是Nicki Minaj第一次回懟那些陰魂不散的噴子，這也避免了直面回懟。早在她2012專輯《Pink Friday:Roman Reloaded》的前半部分里，就有著許多霸氣單曲，如“I Am Your Leader”，“Beez in the Trap”，“Come on a Cone”；但也仍有“Starships”和“Pound the Alarm”這些電子音樂的歡快曲目。2014年發(fā)行的《The Pinkprint》塑造出的那個有血有肉的偶像女王，就像所有人一樣，也容易受傷，但如果她忙于“Anaconda”和“Only”mv中那樣抖臀時可就說不準(zhǔn)了。也許這就是她職業(yè)生涯的發(fā)展方向：她在不同層次、不同時段展現(xiàn)不同的自己，并警醒自己保持底線。

In the meantime, Nicki Minaj’s legacy remains a subject of fascination. It was only a few years ago when she was the only major female rap star, the last woman standing in an industry that seems to dismiss and sexualize anyone who doesn’t reflect a narrow masculine virility. Now, there’s a host of up-and-comers following a path she created, like Dej Loaf, Rico Nasty, Dreezy, Saweetie, Kamaiyah and too many others to name here.

與此同時，Nicki Minaj的過去仍然是一個吸引人的話題。就在幾年前，她還是唯一一位活躍于大眾目光下的女說唱明星，是這個領(lǐng)域中的一名新星，而在這個領(lǐng)域里，任何一個沒有男性氣概的人，似乎都會遭到排斥和性化。如今，已有很多以Dej Loaf, Rico Nasty, Dreezy, Saweetie, Kamaiyah為代表的后起之秀。

Is this the world Nicki Minaj made? There are many reasons why she is now just one of many talented rap women instead of a lone, combative voice. But give the queen credit for surviving to enjoy this moment, even if her natural impulse is to protect her crown against any competitors instead of sharing it.

這就是Nicki Minaj所創(chuàng)造的世界嗎？她現(xiàn)在只是眾多有才華的說唱女性中的一員，而不是一個獨立存在的好斗的個體，她正在向我們證明這一點。但請堅信，我們的女王雖沉浸此刻，但她會時刻保護(hù)她的王冠，而不是與之分享。長路漫漫，Nicki Minaj這把戰(zhàn)火還在燃燒。