Nicki Minaj – “Bed” (Feat. Ariana Grande)
Nicki Minaj’s new album Queen was supposed to be here by now, but she recently pushed its release back to August. She’s already shared a couple of the songs that will be on the album: The hard and rap-centric “Chun-Li” and the Future collab “Rich Sex.” (It appears that “Barbie Tingz,” another of the early advance singles, did not make the cut for the album.) And today, Minaj shared her new single “Bed,” a frothy pop song that teams her up with her frequent collaborator Ariana Grande.
Minaj and Grande had a big hit together with “Side To Side” a few years ago, and Grande recently debuted her new Minaj collaboration “The Light Is Coming” live. And now there’s “Bed,” on which the two of them get breathy and seductive over an expensive-sounding, airy production.
“Bed” once again represents the difficult line that Minaj has mostly-successfully walked for her entire career, combining snarling street-rap with dizzy, sugary pop music. The new single is very much the latter, even if she does get a few lines off. It’s not, on first listen, one of her better singles, but it’s also not something that will have me diving for the dial when it comes on the radio. Check it out below.
Queen is out 8/10 on Cash Money.