Lil Wayne And Nicki Minaj Go For The “Knockout” In New Video

Is the weekend over yet? Lil Wayne’s four-video Memorial Day extravaganza continues with the premiere of “Knockout”, an understandably rushed clip that finds Wayne and his Young Money protege Nicki Minaj bouncing between a locker room and a brightly lit boxing ring. Guess which one of them sports pink boxing gloves, and which one rocks a hipster cardigan? Check out the clip for one of Rebirth‘s most divisive songs.

Directed by Jeffrey Panzer, the “Knockout” video provides a simple platform for Wayne and our Vibe co-cover girl to flirt. Wayne doesn’t offer much besides playing off Nicki’s Barbie persona (“Hey Barbie, are you into black men? Hey Barbie, I can be your black Ken!”). Nicki serves up a clever, raunchy rhyme, but the vocoder robs it of its punch.

The real question is, what chance does “Knockout” have of becoming a knockout on the charts? The New York Times describes its sound as “a Coldplay homage”, but it sounds more like knock-off pop-punk to us. Culture Bully calls it one of Rebirth‘s worst tracks (which is saying something), while Sputnik Music’s review calls it “easily the most enjoyable”, crediting Nicki’s performance while still blasting the album overall. (Personally, we prefer “On Fire”, if we have to pick something).

If you’ve got an opinion, you’re welcome to get in the ring — is Wayne really a rock star?