Nicki Minaj is one of the greatest female rappers of all time. She’s given us numerous iconic guest verses from “Monster” to “Flawless (Remix),” everlasting hits like “Super Bass” and “Starships,” and legions of loyal fans in the Barbz. She’s also given us over twenty alter-egos in the course of her career. However, no alter-ego of hers has been more impactful than Roman. The voice at the center of Nicki’s most unhinged music, the “Roman” persona serves a conduit for Nicki to put forward a high level of theatricality and character work in her music, from beats to bars. And to understand Nicki, you need to understand Roman.
This episode of Switched on Pop, producer Reanna Cruz takes us on a journey through the history of Roman, on the heels of Nicki Minaj’s latest record, Pink Friday 2.
Songs Discussed:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Invasion of the Vibe Snatchers
Into It: Song of Summer 2022
Learning to love the Killers (maybe)
K-Pop Chartbreakers: BLACKPINK, Girls’ Generation, NewJeans, IVE
Demi Lovato Searches for "Substance" In Pop-Punk Perfection
Beyoncé's ‘Renaissance’ Era
Into It: The Business of Beyoncé
"It's About Damn Time" for Another Lizzo #1
Elvis, Big Mama Thornton, Doja Cat, and the Long Legacy of “Hound Dog”
We Won’t Go Back: Pop Music and the Fight For Reproductive Rights (w MILCK and Ann Powers)
Harry Styles and the Sledgehammer Horns
ICYMI: The 90s’ Most Unlikely Hit (with Baz Luhrmann)
Beyoncé's House
Robert Glasper on jazz, basketball, and his score for "Winning Time"
Scoring Stranger Things with Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
Kate Bush, Stranger Things, and a hit song four decades in the making
So your song went viral on TikTok. What’s next?
The 1980s jam that gave Latto and Mariah Carey Big D*** Energy
Kendrick Lamar and the big samples
Modern Classics: PJ Morton made Nas’s Stevie Wonder dream come true
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Good One: A Podcast About Jokes
Vulture Festival Podcast
The Vulture TV Podcast