Nicki Minaj has addressed the controversy surrounding the song, video and artwork for recent single 'Anaconda', saying "that whole song, I was just being dumb. It was a joke."
The singer released the song, which samples Sir Mix-a-Lot's 'Baby Got Back', in August, and it drew considerable controversy for several reasons. The first was its visually explicit video and artwork, and the second was its lyrical content, with verses such as, "I let him hit it 'cause he slang Cocaine. / He toss my salad like his name Romaine, / And when we done, I make him buy me Balmain."
Watch the 'Anaconda' video below
Speaking to Complex about the song, Minaj said: "I wanted to create a song that embraced curvy women. I wanted to be sexual but be playful with it. And I wanted it to be so melodic that even if you don’t understand English you could still go along with the melody and you would have no idea about all the raunchy shit I’m saying—I get a kick out of that."
She added: "It was simple to write. I just created the melody and then I let the words happen. I started laughing when I said, 'Boy toy named Troy.' [Laughs.] That whole song, I was just being dumb. It was a joke."
As for the artwork, which is pictured above, Minaj insisted: "The artwork was not premeditated. I was shooting the 'Anaconda' video and I had my photographer there taking pictures. When I was about to shoot my next scene, I asked to see the pictures he’d taken. He went through five or six and that one came up, and I was like, '[Gasps.] Oh my God. Yo, that picture is crazy!' What made me excited about it was that people hadn’t seen me do a picture like that in years.
"The reason why I stopped taking pictures like that was because I needed to prove myself. I needed for people to take me seriously. I needed for people to respect my craft. I’ve proven that I’m an MC. I’m a writer; I’m the real deal, so if I want to take sexy pictures, I can. I’m at the level in my career and in my life now where I can do whatever the hell I want to."
Read the whole interview at Complex.com
