Former Red Lobster employee Nicki Minaj created quite a stir yesterday after the release of Lil Wayne’s mixtape, "Dedication4." In one of the songs, Minaj claims that she is a Republican and voting for Mitt Romney.
The Washington Free Beacon has fact-checked some of Minaj’s past lyrics and found a history of distortions, lies, and half-truths.
WARNING: Not all of the links/embedded videos are safe for work.
First Pinocchio: "I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney, you lazy b*tches are f*cking up the economy."
The lyric, from the remix of Kanye West’s "Mercy," is rated Probably Not True. Despite Minaj’s past tweets venting to Obama over health care, it seems unlikely that Minaj was giving Romney a legitimate endorsement while mentioning zombies. It is unclear if Minaj was referring to the flesh-eating undead, the cocktail, or Rudy Eugene, the face-eating "bath salt zombie."
The endorsement was also viewed widely as fake by the twitterverse. #Hiphopfactcheck began trending in Washington, D.C.; the meme involved literally interpreting hip-hop lines to humorous results.
Second Pinocchio: "I be with the President up in the White House. If we in the Oval Office then it’s Lights Out."
In "I Get Crazy," from her 2009 mixtape "Beam Me Up Scotty," Minaj raps, "I be with the President up in the White House. If we in the Oval Office then it’s lights out." WFB rates this statement as Pants On Fire.
According to White House visitor logs, Onika Maraj (Minaj’s real name) did not visit the White House in 2009. Therefore, WFB concludes that she could not "be with the President up in the White House."
Third Pinocchio: "I told Khaled you’re the best, but I’m the bestest."
This lyric, from DJ Khaled’s "All I Do Is Win" remix, is rated Half True. While Minaj had the biggest selling solo single from a female rapper in almost a decade with "Super Bass," Lil Kim would not agree that Minaj is the "bestest."
In an interview, Lil Kim said of Minaj: "If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something gotta give." The two have had a long-standing beef that came to a head when Minaj released "Stupid Hoe," a diss track aimed at Lil Kim.
Despite being nominated for the "Best New Artist" Grammy, Minaj lost to Bon Iver.
Fourth Pinocchio: "I am not fly, I am levitation. I represent an entire generation."
Minaj’s lyric from "Fly" featuring Rihanna is Mostly False. After careful review, WFB has concluded that Minaj is not "levitation"; she is a human being. Similarly, her line "I'm a motherf*ing monster" on Kanye West's "Monster" is rated Pants on Fire.
Minaj is, to the best of our knowledge, not in fact an inhuman beast.