Pop Corner: Nicki Minaj - Truffle Butter

"Truffle Butter" is the best track on Nicki Minaj's Pinkprint by a country mile; and it has 'chart-topping hit' smothered all over it. The fact that a Minaj tune has the potential to be one of her best without the usual verse-chorus structure is disturbingly amazing; especially one without a bridge. I'm quite frankly surprised that so many of her hardcore following have backed this, given its clear electronic sounds - massively differing from her previous releases. Though (being brutally honest.) this is the best Minaj track since "Superbass", and it's shamefully a 'bonus' track on The Pinkprint. The ear-catching nature of "Truffle Butter" is down to producer Nineteen85, who (according to Complex) has such an unimportant role at OVO Sound, that he's got a barber and Drake's personal trainer to surpass in order to reach level two on the OVO pyramid. He has no credit on Drake's latest 'mixtape' album - though gaining recognition through Drake's best tracks: "Hold On, We're Going Home" and "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" - not too bad. Regardless of Nineteen85's actual production contributions on Drake's music - he's clearly the man that's linked "Truffle Butter" to Maya Jane Coles' "What They Say", for that, he must be appreciated within Drake's clique. He's not only showing an interest in the ever developing hip-house genre, but bringing positive exposure to an artist who probably earns less in a year than how much Lil Wayne made with his verse on "Truffle Butter" -  an example of when rapping is vastly inferior to the sample.

One can only assume Minaj, Drake, and Lil Wayne are going to split from Cash Money not only for their control over solo recordings, but to form some rap supergroup called The Trio or something. They're so involved with each other’s music it seems almost inevitable Onika, Aubrey, and Dwayne will cross paths once their deals are done. I've lost count how many times these three have collaborated together, but it seems like a lot - it seems to work chart wise, and financially. Here on "Truffle Butter", the 'three rappers' approach works better than the 'featured artist' you see as credited. It's only a Nicki Minaj song because it's on The Pinkprint. Honestly, all three would have been better off if they released it under a different moniker keeping it away from The Pinkprint, as it's fundamentally wasted. 

It seems Tyga (Mustard on the beat?) was dropped from Minaj's group of guests prior to The Pinkprint being releases, which allowed Lil Wayne to give the final verse. In all honesty, Lil Wayne's is the better out of the three. Drake - although I’m getting used to his snobby attitude - offers nothing new to the domain, it feels as if I've heard his verse 10 times before. Minaj offers her usual vocal cuts, though unfortunately her soundboard forgot to include a 'Pull-up', though the listener does get a 'Yo'. Again, her verse sounds similar to previous Minaj tracks where bragging comes across as arrogance rather than sustenance: "I'm still the highest sellin' female rapper, for the record, Man, this a 65 million single sold, I ain't gotta compete with a single soul." - Another reason for audiences to argue the talent / money claim. On the other hand, as mentioned above... Lil Wayne actually succeeds in the bragging because it's funny rather than annoying: "I could be broke and keep a million dollar smile." / "LOL to the bank checkin' my account, bank teller flirtin' after checkin' my account." Overall, the lyrical value isn't so important on a track with such an infuriatingly catchy beat - and that's props to the creator Maya Jane Coles, it doesn't matter who's delivering a verse on this - it could be a 14 year old with a rap dream, or a collection of Star Trek quotes put together - the beat will prevail. 
~Eddie Gibson

Discovery: Pop Corner: Nicki Minaj - Truffle Butter
Pop Corner: Nicki Minaj - Truffle Butter