One of the most impressive qualities about Nicki Minaj is her ability to hold her own with damn near every elite lyricist in the game, often turning in scene-stealing performances in the process. Nowhere was that more evident than on "Roman's Revenge," a deranged duet between two minds eager to indulge in depravity. Here, the alter-egos are granted unsupervised room to play, and both Nicki's Roman and Eminem's Slim Shady waste little time in opening the floodgates.
Over a frantic instrumental from Swizz Beatz, Nicki sets things off with a dominant opening verse. "I'm startin' to feel like a dungeon dragon," she snarls, her intensity palpable. "Look at my show footage, how these girls be spazzin', so fuck I look like gettin' back to a has-been?" Eminem has no intention of being outdone, or at the very minimum, outcrazied. "I ain't into S&M, but my whip's off the chain, a little drop of candy paint drips off the frame," he spits. "Twisted-ass mind, got a pretzel for a brain / an eraser for a head, fuckin' pencil for a frame."
As the first of two collaborations between Minaj and Em, it's certainly interesting to hear how their styles blend together. Especially given how different "Roman's Revenge" is from the remainder of Pink Friday, tonally speaking. Do you feel like this one has aged well enough to be deemed a classic?
QUOTABLE LYRICS
Now I'ma wrap your coffin with a bow
"Nicki, she's just mad 'cause you took the spot"
Word, that bitch mad 'cause I took the spot?
Well, bitch, if you ain't shittin', then get off the pot
Got some n***as out in Brooklyn that'll off your top