"Lookin Ass" is a song by rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, released on February 14, 2014 as the third single from the

Young Money Entertainment Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires (abbreviated as YMCMB ...

compilation album Young Money: Rise of an Empire (2014). It was produced by Detail and Choppa Boi. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the track was released on February 14, 2014. The track is a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

song which lyrics criticize stereotypical behaviors commonly associated with black men. Its cover also generated controversy for placing an image of activist

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

, next to the derogatory term "

nigga ''Nigga'' (), also known as "''the N-word''", is a colloquial term in African-American Vernacular English that is considered as a vulgar word in most contexts of its use. It began as a dialect form of the word ''nigger'', an ethnic slur agai ...

". On March 11, 2014, "Lookin Ass" was serviced to

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

radio in the United States as ''Young Money: Rise of an Empire''s third official single. It was sent to US

rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor ...

radio stations on March 18, 2014, two weeks after its predecessor, "

Trophies A trophy is a tangible, decorative item used to remind of a specific achievement, serving as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most commonly awarded for sporting events, ranging from youth sports to professional level athletics. Add ...

Background

In May 2013, Minaj announced that her then-untitled third studio album would "focus on rap", whereas her previous record '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012) explored more prominent elements of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

. She further stated that she would begin writing material for the project later that year, after production was completed for her first feature film '' The Other Woman'' (2014). Minaj discussed in an interview how the song "Lookin' Ass" was conceived: The album was mentioned in Minaj's

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

of "Boss Ass Bitch" by PTAF (Pretty Taking All Fades), and was officially announced to be titled ''

The Pinkprint ''The Pinkprint'' is the third studio album by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on December 15, 2014, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Departing from the dance-pop elements of her previous alb ...

'' with the premiere of "Lookin' Ass" on February 12. The track was additionally featured on '' Young Money: Rise of an Empire'', a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

by Minaj's label

Composition

"Lookin Ass" is a

song; it commences with "a persistent piano thump and auto-tuned wail", after which Minaj begins rapping about her criticisms of the male gender, which are referred to as "lookin' ass niggas". Her verses highlight particular distastes of men fixating over her buttocks, embellishing their financial stability, and overemphasize their connections with drug-dealing. Latifah Muhammad from HipHopWired suggested that Minaj "feverishly protects her rap crown spitting a furious flow of angry bars" in response to earlier criticisms she had received for experimenting with

. She additionally noted that Minaj followed a "similar rhyme pattern throughout" and " tackedmultisyllabic bars ending each bar with the controversial N-word."

Critical reception

"Lookin Ass" received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. Rob Markman from

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

joked that "someone forgot to tell Nicki Minaj" that

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

is traditionally led by men, and complimented that "this 2014 version of Nicki is far more menacing than anything we've seen" with her earlier projects. ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' listed the second verse of the song as the fifth best rap verse of 2014. The song also was on ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''s list of "The 101 Best Songs of 2014".

Controversy

The unofficial single cover for "Lookin Ass" features a picture of the late activist

holding an

M1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States carbine, caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine chambered in the .30 carbine (7.62×33mm) cartridge that was issued to the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, and t ...

in his

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York residence in 1964. The placement of the derogatory term "

" beside his image generated controversy; Alvin Aqua Blanco of Blanco from HipHopWired suggested that "to equate a man that literally died for his cause — the advancement of human rights for people of color — is just wrong on multiple levels." Latifah Muhammad from the same website made an additional note of its release during

Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...

. Minaj apologized through her

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account, commenting that the image was not intended as the official cover:

"What seems to be the issue now? Do you have a problem with me referring to the people Malcolm X was ready to pull his gun out on as Lookin Ass Niggaz? Well, I apologize. That was never the official artwork nor is this an official single. This is a conversation. Not a single. I am in the video shooting at Lookin Ass Niggaz and there happened to be an iconic photo of Malcolm X ready to do the same thing for what he believed in!!!! It is in no way to undermine his efforts and legacy. I apologize to the Malcolm X estate if the meaning of the photo was misconstrued. The word "nigga" causes so much debate in our community while the "nigga" behavior gets praised and worship. Let's not. Apologies again to his family. I have nothing but respect an adoration for u. The photo was removed hours ago. Thank you."

Music video

In February 2014, Minaj uploaded pictures of herself through

during production of an unannounced project; she was dressed in "a black see-through leotard and star-shaped nipple covers". She later implied that she had been filming a music video, commenting "Behind the scenes. Shot by @grizzleemusic " on another picture uploaded on the service. The final product was directed by

Nabil Elderkin Nabil Elderkin (born February 11, 1982) is an American-born Australian film and music video director and photographer, who is of Iranian and American descent. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos. Elderkin has directed videos for ...

, and was released through hip hop website

WorldStarHipHop WorldStarHipHop is a content-aggregating video blog. Zurawik, David.Worldstarhiphop.com makes a name for itself with shocking viral videos". ''The Baltimore Sun''. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 22, 2012Alternate link to the same article fr ...

on February 12, 2014. The

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, mon ...

video takes places in a vacant section of land near a mountain range. Minaj is seen suggestively posing throughout the clip and holding an assault rifle on several occasions. Close-up footage of men staring at her is interspersed throughout the clip; Minaj shoots at them at the end of the video.

Charts

References

External links

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles Young Money songs Cash Money Records singles Universal Records singles Music videos directed by Nabil Elderkin Songs written by Detail (record producer) Song recordings produced by Detail (record producer) Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs with feminist themes Black-and-white music videos Obscenity controversies in music African-American-related controversies Young Money Entertainment singles Cultural depictions of Malcolm X