搬运自：微信公众号【评论搬一堆】（在原文基础上添加了英语原文与排版调整）

翻译：Ocean-Ashley

校对：Ryan-Chopin

原文链接：https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-nicki-minaj-protects-her-crown-on-queen-710819/

一场反对被禁锢、被定型的斗争

On her first album in three and a half years, Nicki Minaj comes out swinging. “Unlike a lot of these hoes, whether wack or lit/At least I can say I wrote every rap I spit,” she charges on “Ganja Burns.” Queen is littered with subliminal disses, and though she doesn’t name names, it’s not a leap to imagine Cardi B, Remy Ma, Lil Kim and sundry frenemies as her targets. Only ‘90s heroine Foxy Brown is allowed to stand beside her on the chiming bells and ragga rhythm of “Coco Chanel.” “They know I’m the queen,” raps Nicki over the ornery Trap rhythm of “Hard White.” “I didn’t pick an heiress.”

在她三年半以来的首张专辑里，Nicki Minaj大放异彩。“与其他大多不论是怪人还是辣鸡不同，至少我可以保证我唱的每一句都是我自己写的。”她在“Ganja Burns”中写道。《Queen》的歌里充斥着无意识的贬低之词，即使她没有指名道姓，但想知道她是在怼Cardi B, Remy Ma, Lil Kim 和sundry frenemies也并非什么难事。只有90年代大佬Foxy Brown才能与这位女王媲美，也只有她能在“Coco Chanel”中优雅地编曲并赋予其独特的雷鬼节奏。“他们知道我就是女王。”Nicki 在“Hard White”那段饶舌中说。“没有任何人配成为我的继承人。”

The centerpiece is “Barbie Dreams,” a viral revision of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Just Playing (Dreams).” While Biggie drooled over “R&B bitches,” Nicki Minaj “dreams of fucking one of these little rappers,” and cuts them down to size in the process. “Drake worth a 100 million, always buying me shit/But I don’t know if the pussy wet or if he crying and shit,” she rhymes, subtly poking fun at Drake’s sad boy persona. She crows about former beau Meek Mill haunting her DM’s, Young Thug stealing her dresses, and DJ Khaled’s portly weight—providing grist for countless memes in the process. (It’s actually her second cover of the Brooklyn legend’s 1994 track; she also remixed “Dreams” for her 2007 debut mixtape, Playtime Is Over.)

专辑中最值得一提的是“Barbie Dreams”，它是B.I.G的“Just Playing (Dreams)”进行颠覆性改编后的产物。当Biggie垂涎于那些“R&B bitches”时，Nicki Minaj在“dreams of fucking one of these little rappers（与其他的饶舌歌手寻欢作乐）”，并将其逐一击败。“Drake worth a 100 million, always buying me shit/But I don’t know if the pussy wet or if he crying and shit,”歌中这样写到，并在Drake这个坏男孩形象中取乐。她毫不忌讳地谈着前男友Meek Mill如何缠着她，DM、Young Thug偷了她的衣服，还提到了DJ Khaled的身材，成为她无数表情包的来源。（事实上，这是她第二次翻唱Brooklyn legend于1994制作的音频小样 ；她还将“Dreams”混音版加入自己2007年的首张混音磁带《Playtime Is Over》中。）

Queen brings a new Nicki Minaj character: the regal, haughty monarch, a woman who insists on sword-sharpened rhymes as a prerogative for excellence. Her true-school pose may look ill-fitting for an artist who has spent most of the decade toggling between Busta Rhymes-like wackiness and Rihanna-like electronic pop. However, it has long been clear that in terms of pure bar-for-bar skills, Nicki Minaj is one of the best rappers of her generation. If she were a man, she would have long ago been crowned the best (mainstream) rapper in New York City. The question, as always, is whether she can figure out how to make full use of her incredible musical abilities.

《Queen》展现了Nicki Minaj的新形象：一个高高在上的傲慢女王，一位一直使用顺口的押韵来追求卓越的女人。对于一个花了十年时间在布斯塔·莱姆斯式押韵和蕾哈娜风格的电子流行音乐之间挣扎的艺人来说，让她循规蹈矩，可能不太合适。如果就以纯bar-for-bar技巧来看，Nicki Minaj在她同时代的rapper里毫无疑问是佼佼者之一。如果她是个男人，她肯定早就被誉为纽约最厉害的（主流）rapper了。但问题就是她是否知道如何将她绝妙的音乐才华发挥到极致。

Despite some spectacular moments, Queen has a flabby, meandering mid-section. Nicki’s bestie Ariana Grande shows up for “Bed,” but it can’t compare to past collabos like “Side to Side.” “Chun Swae” is too deferential to Swae Lee’s tropical pop croon; the same goes for the Weeknd’s embittered accusations to a past lover on “Thought I Knew You.” It’s a relief when Nicki retakes control for the underrated battle rap single “Chun-Li,” and the jiggly “Good Form,” the latter that finds her reaching wildly zany lyrical heights.

尽管有这些出色的成绩，《Queen》也不是每首歌都让人惊艳。Nicki的闺蜜Ariana Grande在“Bed”里发声，但它仍比不上如“Side to Side”这样的经典作品。“Chun Swae”对于Swae Lee这种热带流行曲风来说又太过保守了；The Weeknd在“Thought I Knew You”表达对过往爱人愤怒的谴责。当Nicki重掌不被看好的battle rap单曲“Chun-Li”和“Good Form”的制作权时，这让大家又松了一口气，而且“Good Form”可谓她疯狂大胆的作词新高度。

Queen isn’t the first time Nicki Minaj has spit hard with sustained force, only to hedge her bets. The first half of her 2012 album, Pink Friday…Roman Reloaded, brought face-melting highlights like “I Am Your Leader,” “Beez in the Trap,” and “Come on a Cone”; but it also included Electric Daisy Carnival bangers like “Starships” and “Pound the Alarm.” Meanwhile, 2014’s The Pinkprint found her emerging as a flesh-and-blood icon who is just as vulnerable to personal heartbreak as the rest of us, at least when she wasn’t busy shaking her ass on dumb-hot singles like “Anaconda” and “Only.” Perhaps this is how her career is meant to unfold: she reveals herself in layers, in fits and starts, always with an eye on the commercial bottom line.

专辑《Queen》并不是Nicki Minaj第一次回怼那些阴魂不散的喷子，这也避免了直面回怼。早在她2012专辑《Pink Friday:Roman Reloaded》的前半部分里，就有着许多霸气单曲，如“I Am Your Leader”，“Beez in the Trap”，“Come on a Cone”；但也仍有“Starships”和“Pound the Alarm”这些电子音乐的欢快曲目。2014年发行的《The Pinkprint》塑造出的那个有血有肉的偶像女王，就像所有人一样，也容易受伤，但如果她忙于“Anaconda”和“Only”mv中那样抖臀时可就说不准了。也许这就是她职业生涯的发展方向：她在不同层次、不同时段展现不同的自己，并警醒自己保持底线。

In the meantime, Nicki Minaj’s legacy remains a subject of fascination. It was only a few years ago when she was the only major female rap star, the last woman standing in an industry that seems to dismiss and sexualize anyone who doesn’t reflect a narrow masculine virility. Now, there’s a host of up-and-comers following a path she created, like Dej Loaf, Rico Nasty, Dreezy, Saweetie, Kamaiyah and too many others to name here.

与此同时，Nicki Minaj的过去仍然是一个吸引人的话题。就在几年前，她还是唯一一位活跃于大众目光下的女说唱明星，是这个领域中的一名新星，而在这个领域里，任何一个没有男性气概的人，似乎都会遭到排斥和性化。如今，已有很多以Dej Loaf, Rico Nasty, Dreezy, Saweetie, Kamaiyah为代表的后起之秀。

Is this the world Nicki Minaj made? There are many reasons why she is now just one of many talented rap women instead of a lone, combative voice. But give the queen credit for surviving to enjoy this moment, even if her natural impulse is to protect her crown against any competitors instead of sharing it.

这就是Nicki Minaj所创造的世界吗？她现在只是众多有才华的说唱女性中的一员，而不是一个独立存在的好斗的个体，她正在向我们证明这一点。但请坚信，我们的女王虽沉浸此刻，但她会时刻保护她的王冠，而不是与之分享。长路漫漫，Nicki Minaj这把战火还在燃烧。