Sucka Free

Sucka Free is the second mixtape by Trinidadian-born American rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on April 12, 2008 through Dirty Money Records. Sucka Free features guest appearances from fellow rappers Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Jadakiss, Lil' Kim and Ransom. Production derives from Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool, Diddy, James Todd Smith, among others. None of the tracks are original songs, mostly using samples of popular hip hop records.

Sucka Free
Mixtape by Nicki Minaj
Released	April 12, 2008
Recorded	2007–2008
Genre	Hip hop, R&B
Length	56:25
Label	Dirty Money Records
Producer	Hosted by Lil Wayne
Nicki Minaj chronology
Playtime Is Over (2007) Sucka Free (2008) Beam Me Up Scotty (2009)

Background

Just after Minaj's previous mixtape, Playtime Is Over, was released in 2007, Minaj released Sucka Free with label mate Lil Wayne after he discovered her on the Queens-made DVD series called The Come Up.[1]

Artwork

The cover of this tape shows Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne at a podium in front of a red curtain being interviewed by XXL and MTV. Minaj is wearing a gold-colored necklace and gold-colored earrings wearing a halfway buttoned down red shirt and wearing striped pants similar to the ones she is wearing on the Playtime Is Over mixtape. Lil Wayne is wearing a red garment with a silver watch and silver chains with a black hat titled "Young Money".

Lil' Kim Controversy

A promotional photo for the mixtape paid homage to that of rapper Lil' Kim's debut album photoshoot, Hard Core causing Kim to express anger on Twitter.[2] Despite Minaj calling Kim an "influence" early in her career, tensions rose between the two females with Kim calling Minaj "catty" and accused her of copying her image saying, "If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something gotta give. You help me, I help you. That's how it goes to me."[3]

Minaj responded to the situation in an interview on The Angie Martinez Show saying "She picked a fight with Foxy, then she picked a fight with Eve, then she picked a fight with Remy, then it was Mrs. Wallace, then it was Nicki Minaj", said Minaj. "Every time you in the news, it's 'cause you gettin' at somebody! Where's your music? Put your music out, and when I see your name on Billboard, that's when I'll respond to you. Other than that, goodbye. It's Barbie, bitch."[3] Minaj went on to respond to Kim on "Roman's Revenge," a song from her debut album, in 2010 with Eminem.[4]

Critical reception

Minaj's work on the mixtape has been compared to the likes of rappers Eminem (left) and Lil Wayne (right); Minaj went on to collaborate with both numerous times in her career.

In a 2014 article, NME described the mixtape as Minaj's bang "on the door of hip-hop’s boys club" and was described as "explosive".[5] Although Minaj jumped on a "load of popular hip hop instrumentals", she successfully made every track feel like her own.[6]

Minaj's remix of Eminem and The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Dead Wrong" was seen as a standout track from the mixtape which called in "comparisons to NYC rap legends like Notorious" and eventually continued by Minaj in her fourth studio album, The Pinkprint, on songs such as "Four Door Aventador".[6] The song was also called a "triumph and an omen" in a Paper Magazine article, but that it was hardly comparable to Minaj's fifth studio album, Queen.[7] With high praise response from critics, Minaj won an award for Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.[8]

Accolades

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2008	Nicki Minaj	Female Artist of the Year	Won[8]

Commercial performance

The mixtape debuted at number 95 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, making it Minaj's only mixtape to chart.[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Original song(s)	Length
1.	"President Carter Speaks"		1:09
2.	"Sunshine" (featuring Lil Wayne)	"(Always Be My) Sunshine" by Jay-Z featuring Foxy Brown	3:18
3.	"Set It Off"	"Set It Off" by N.O.R.E. featuring Swizz Beatz and J. Ru$$	2:15
4.	"Brraaattt" (featuring Ransom)	"Buck Buck" by Red Café and DJ Envy featuring Sheek Louch	2:43
5.	"Higher Than a Kite" (featuring Lil Wayne)	"My Swag" by T.I. featuring Wyclef Jean	2:35
6.	"Grindin"	"Grindin'" by Clipse	2:20
7.	"Curious George"	"730" by Foxy Brown	2:02
8.	"Sucka Free ‘08"		0:07
9.	"Baddest Bitch"	"Single Again" by Trina	2:19
10.	"Wanna Minaj?" (featuring Gucci Mane and Lil’ Kim)	"Freaky Gurl" (Remix) by Gucci Mane featuring Lil' Kim & Ludacris	3:39
11.	"Doin It Well" (featuring Jadakiss)	"Doin' It" by LL Cool J	2:23
12.	"Cuchi Shop"	"Coffee Shop" by Yung Joc featuring Gorilla Zoe	3:11
13.	"Hundred Million Dollaz"		0:19
14.	"Young Money Ballaz" (featuring Lil Wayne)	"Roc-A-Fella Billionaires" by Freeway featuring Jay-Z	2:38
15.	"Sweetest Girl"	"Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" by Wyclef Jean featuring Akon and Lil Wayne	3:04
16.	"Firm Biz '08" (featuring Jadakiss)	"Firm Biz" by The Firm	1:37
17.	"Dead Wrong"	"Dead Wrong" by The Notorious B.I.G.	2:46
18.	"Long Time Comin'" (featuring Ransom)		3:16
19.	"Womp Womp"		2:34
20.	"Who’s Ya Best MC?"	"Pussy MVP" by Lil Wayne featuring Jay Bezel and Hot Rod	2:27
21.	"Autobiography"	"Feel It In the Air" by Beanie Sigel featuring Melissa	4:33
22.	"President Carter Signs Off"		0:16
23.	"Lollipop (Remix)"	"Lollipop" by Lil Wayne	5:42

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[9]	95

References

1. Lipshutz, Jason. "Nicki Minaj Catches Eyes On Lil' Wayne's Young Money Tour". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
2. Alexis, Diamonds (June 22, 2018). "Lil Kim Just Threw Major Shade At Nicki Minaj With One Sentence..." BET. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
3. "Nicki Minaj tells Lil' Kim to get a life". MTV. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
4. "Nicki Minaj Reveals The Real Reason Behind Her Lil' Kim Diss On 'Roman's Revenge'". Capital XTRA. August 16, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
5. "Nicki Minaj – 'The Pinkprint' review". NME. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
6. "An Introduction to Nicki Minaj's Mixtapes". Crack. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
7. "Decade of the Barb: 10 Years of Nicki Minaj". Paper. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
8. "Nicki Minaj - The Vogue". Vogue. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
9. "Sucka Free Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.