Nicki Minaj And Cassie Give "The Boys" A Show

Nicki Minaj has unveiled the eye-popping video for her new single "The Boys," a quick romp heavy on primary covers, bikinis, thongs and kick drums, served as the first new cut feature on the upcoming reissue of the pop-rap vixen's sophomore album, "Pink Friday Roman Reloaded: The Re-Up," due in November 19. Minaj enlisted singer Cassie to croon the song's hook, and gets weird, wild, and downright wonderful.
Musically, the bass-heavy track is a R&B song, which features a mix of throbbing beat, strong basslines and synthesizers, along with gurgling acoustic-guitar riffs and rapping. Cassie's parts are backed up by a guitar line. The song is about a pithy kiss-off to men who try to buy love with money and jewels. With "The Boys," Minaj comes as close as she ever has to blending her two identities. She goes hard in the verses over gunshot snare drums, throwing out some hyperactive accents before giving way to Cassie on the singalong chorus. The result is catchy as hell, but with enough credibility that we don't think even radio 'Hot 97' will have a problem with it.
"The Boys" stirs a perfect storm between clever hip hop, potent pop, and soulful acoustic pondering. There's an outer space folk bridge that'll blow your mind. It's a smart, sly rumination on "The Boys" and it hits hard in an otherworldly vulnerable space. Minaj has married the two styles of rap and pop, and the song begs for immediate radio play. It is catchy as hell, but with enough credibility. It is one of Minaj's best tracks yet and a landmark song for 2012. Minaj is changing the game again and ensured that the barbz are gonna freak on this one.
Minaj gets her own back on men in the flame-fuelled video, shot by Colin Tilley, and it begins with a close-up shot of a newspaper headline, then cuts to Minaj performing alongside Cassie as the two dress up in brightly colored wigs and getting ready in a hair salon. The clip dances through moods in a similar fashion, assaulting the viewer with doses of Minaj's frenetic, craven Barbie personality, but Cassie embraces her masculine side in a dark blue suit with cropped neon hair, is our favorite look, and both of them gazing longingly into the camera.

Cassie Dances Back With "King of Hearts"

Cassie unveiled the steamy video on Valentine's Day for her new single "King of Hearts," the lead single from the R&B singer's long-delayed sophomore studio album, "Electro Love," drops later this year. We say allegedly, because she's spent close to six years on Bad Boy & Interscope's shelf since her debut, and every few months, her or Diddy say she's coming back. Well, apparently she might be close to a comeback.
"King of Hearts" is an uptempo electro dance and dance-pop number that features jungle beats and escalating synths. It features the use of echoing vocal effects and a fast backbeat while running through a four-on-the-floor rhythm and playing over a bouncy beat. Lyrically, it is centered around the theme of seduction. Cassie's song really does keep building from beginning to end, starting with staccato pinpricks of synth and handclaps soon joined by thudding, slightly syncopated drum programming.
Cassie's voice is still cool and restrained, rather than Robyn's open-hearted emoting, and the Diddy-affiliated singer's approach perfectly suits this return to the 25-year-old's best theme so far: seduction. It's that kind of fresh, it's that kind of innovative: The lyrics, the melodies, the song structure, the delivery, the beats–there's not one part of this song that contains even a single molecular flaw.
There's no easily discernable narrative here - just Cassie frolicking through a dark house in haute loungewear while an ominous, hoodie-wearing dude lurks into her room in the Chris Sims-directed clip, which shows the model-turned-singer strutting her smokin' HAWT body across a majestic mansion. The enigmatic video begins with a camera on a tripod. We see Cassie with a lighter, head-shaven look and writhes in a bathtub, in front of a fire, rocking a heavy gold chain and silk top, dancing on a dining table and strutting down a hallway, and all the while, the King Of Hearts remains fairly absent.