''Sucka Free'' is the second

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

by Trinidadian 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 ...

. It was released on April 12, 2008, by Dirty Money Records. ''Sucka Free'' features guest appearances from fellow rappers

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

and Ransom. Production derives from Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool, Diddy, James Todd Smith, among others. None of the tracks have original instrumentals, using other productions of popular

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- ...

records.

Background

Just after Minaj's previous mixtape, '' Playtime Is Over'', was released in 2007, Minaj released ''Sucka Free'' with label mate Lil Wayne after he discovered her on the Queens-made DVD series called ''The Come Up''.

Artwork

The cover of ''Sucka Free'' shows Minaj and Lil Wayne at a podium in front of a red curtain being interviewed by '' XXL'' and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Minaj is wearing a gold-colored necklace and earrings, a halfway buttoned down red shirt, and striped pants similar to the ones she is wearing on the ''Playtime Is Over'' mixtape. Wayne is wearing a red garment with a silver watch and silver chains, and a black hat that reads "Young Money".

Lil' Kim controversy

In a promotional photo for the mixtape, Minaj paid homage to that of rapper

's debut album photoshoot, '' Hard Core'', causing Kim to express anger on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Despite Minaj calling Kim an "influence" early in her career, tensions rose between the two with Kim calling Minaj "catty" and accused her of copying her image saying, "If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something gotta give. You help me, I help you. That's how it goes to me." Minaj responded to the situation in an interview on The Angie Martinez Show saying "She picked a fight with Foxy, then she picked a fight with

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

, then she picked a fight with Remy, then it was Mrs. Wallace, then it was Nicki Minaj", said Minaj. "Every time you in the news, it's 'cause you gettin' at somebody! Where's your music? Put your music out, and when I see your name on ''Billboard'', that's when I'll respond to you. Other than that, goodbye. It's Barbie, bitch." Minaj also went on to respond to Kim on " Roman's Revenge," a song from her debut album, in 2010 with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Critical reception

In a 2014 article, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described the mixtape as Minaj's bang "on the door of hip-hop's boys club" and was described as "explosive". Although Minaj jumped on a "load of popular hip hop instrumentals", she successfully made every track feel like her own. Minaj's remix of

and The Notorious B.I.G.'s " Dead Wrong" was seen as a standout track from the mixtape which called in "comparisons to NYC rap legends like Notorious" and eventually continued by Minaj in her third studio album, '' The Pinkprint'', on songs such as " Four Door Aventador". The song was also called a "triumph and an omen" in a ''

Paper Magazine ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and ...

'' article, but that it was hardly comparable to Minaj's fourth studio album, ''

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

''. With high praise response from critics, Minaj won an award for Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.

Accolades

, - , rowspan="1", 2008 , Nicki Minaj , Female Artist of the Year ,

Commercial performance

The mixtape debuted at number 95 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

, making it Minaj's first mixtape to chart.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Nicki Minaj 2008 mixtape albums Nicki Minaj mixtape albums Young Money Entertainment mixtape albums Dirty Money Records albums