Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” Video: Review Revue

Rachel Sonis | August 20, 2014 9:00 am

After weeks of relentless teasing with her rather controversial cover art, the bonkers lyric video and “interesting” photos of her giving a lap dance to none other than fellow YMCMB member Drake, Nicki Minaj has finally unleashed her video for the Sir Mix A Lot-sampling single “Anaconda” and, boy, is it a doozy.

Directed by Colin Tilley, the clip is exactly what you’d expect (and more) from the cheeky twerk anthem: Scantily-clad girls shaking their butts in the steamy jungle, Nicki “working out” in a pink thong and then giving Drake that much-anticipated lap dance of a lifetime. Trust me when I say this: Absolutely nothing was the same after that.

Our own Robbie Daw thought the visual was simply something we’ve seen time and time again: “Finally we see the big money shot: Nicki giving Drake a lapdance. This is probably the part where everyone is supposed to be tent-poling in their shorts and rubbing their nipples with pencil erasers. Except this whole thing is pretty limp, and we’ve seen it all before. The video will at least get lots of YouTube views, which should ensure ‘Anaconda’ won’t tank as hard as ‘Pills N Potions’ did. So goal achieved. Yay?”

But what did the rest of the music world have to say? Here is our round up of some reviews across the interweb below.

:: Rap-Up really thought the The Pink Print rapstress worked her assets: “Baby got back. Nicki Minaj drops the big and bootyful video for her Sir Mix-a-Lot-sampled banger ‘Anaconda.’ The tropical-themed clip, directed by Colin Tilley, stars the reigning rap queen in all her voluptuous glory.”

:: TIME thinks that the video, like the track’s cover-art, might spark a lot of controversy: “Featuring loads of twerking, sexual references and a cameo from Drake, the video for ‘Anaconda’ is Minaj’s tribute to all the women who ‘ain’t missing no meals,’ while also denouncing all ‘the skinny bitches in the club.’ (It’s also sure to spawn countless articles on any and all of the following: female sexuality; sexual objectification; sexual objectification in hip-hop; and race.)”

:: Billboard was mesmerized by all the booty-shaking: “And there’s no prizes for guessing its pure NSFW fantasy…It’s all harmless fun, and the Colin Tilley-directed promo will put her in the frame whenever talk starts about the ‘raunchiest video of the year.'”

:: The Guardian mused that to expect anything else from this video would have been naive. “It was never going to offer a delicate, ethological insight into the non-venomous snake found in tropical South America. The artwork for Nicki Minaj’s new single Anaconda had already been deemed not safe for work – with the rapper aping the likes of Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown while promoting Air Jordan VIs in the process – but the video is as confrontational and twerk-based as was alluded to in her various Instagram trailers.”

:: Rolling Stone said: “Nicki Minaj‘s new video “Anaconda” is like something from one of Sir Mix-a-Lot‘s dreams, as a chorus line of women endowed with large posteriors – led by Minaj, of course – flex their butts to her new single. Set in a steamy jungle setting, the song samples ‘Baby Got Back,’ the elder rapper’s 1992 ode to titanic tush, and features some conspicuously suggestive bananas and even more conspicuous product placement.”

:: And finally, MTV compared Nicki to the likes of Jane Fonda and describes the video as, well, “colorful”: “The Pink Print MC gets very colorful during the varied set pieces that find her going from a ‘Flashdance’ tribute to a sexy pink bikini-clad personal trainer who will work you out better than Jane Fonda.”

What did you think about the “Anaconda” video? Let us know in the comment section below.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.

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