That’s a pretty superb apology, actually. Textbook, even. “Here’s why I screwed up; here’s how I screwed up; I’m sorry I screwed up.” Bing, bang, boom.

This was surprisingly mature coming from someone who writes tracks like “Bad Blood.”

The real scandal here is that “Smashmouth singer gets pelted with bread” didn’t receive a nomination.

I’m sure this will all get settled when they bump into each other at their lockers after school starts back up…they’ll have an OMG moment and have some gigs and gags over that awkward moment when Scottie offered Nicki his letter jacket at the end of the annual summer beach bonfire..

I like how Stereogum responds to the anti-poptimist streak in the comments section by digging in their heels and getting even MORE hyperbolic and effusive with their coverage of pop stars.

Complaining about award snubs is “standing up for herself”
VMA nominations are “crucial”
Feeling Myself video is “instantly iconic” (it’s a fun video, but nah)
Anaconda video is “synonymous with 2014? (i’d give that frankly nonsensical honor to FlyLo’s Never Catch Me)

You really know how to push our buttons, you rotten scamps 🙂

You know how you know an artist isn’t in it for the art? When they fight over the MTV VMAs.

“Anaconda,” I’m sorry, is just awful. It pretends to be a sex-positive feminist anthem about embracing your body. But it’s framed around a narrative that’s more willfully self-destructive than playful/risqué (e.g., “I let him hit it ‘cause he slang cocaine”), a message that’s ultimately body-shaming and arguably misogynistic (i.e., ending with “Fuck the skinny bitches in the club!” chanted without irony or remorse), a video that’s less a statement than an immaculately curated meme-montage, and a sample that’s ruthlessly corny.

“Feelin’ Myself” is a great song and I loved the video; to be fair, I liked a lot of The Pinkprint. I understand Nicki taking offense at being snubbed (a natural human reaction) and feeling frustrated that black women are significantly underappreciated in society (which is true), but IMO “Anaconda” is atrocious and not worth defending.

Also, the VMAs are stupid.

Meek sure does laugh out loud a lot.

Why are we pretending like the VMAs matter? Like, at all?

Oh come on, this is some grade A daily-massaged Kobe Beef. This couldn’t be more in Stereogum’s wheelhouse if Carly Rae Jepsen showed up to confess her hate for Mumford & Sons while wearing a Beyoncé t-shirt.

Embarrassing. This is why I stopped following hip-hop 15 years ago.

People raised $40,000 for this shit instead of doing something charitable with it?

I’m thinking you must have been trying to be funny?
Thats because there aren’t songs about these people..
Nor do there need to be any.
It’s sentimental bunk & merely an attempt to catch some spotlight by using their names.
Probably at the suggestion of his record company.

Music seems pretty good so far. But everything about the release sort of reeks of old people trying to be hip.

Seriously? A wilco album named Star Wars? Worse than putting Hurley on a cover… And theres a cat? And a Beyonce type release? Its like they grabbed every cliche ‘hip’ thing from two years ago and put it on the album cover.

In other news, Stereogum is now referring to Nicki Minaj as an “artist.”

My gosh you guys are never going to get over this Album of the Week thing are you