Despite the claims of Remy Ma and many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many others, I've never subscribed to the belief that Nicki Minaj employs and relies on a cadre of ghostwriters to prop her up. Mainly because it's a claim that always seems to resurface whenever there's a popular female rapper who also makes no effort to hide her sex appeal. (See, Kim, Lil, Brown, Foxy, Trina, and even — gasp — Becky, Darth.) As if a woman can't be sexy and spit at the same time. And "No Frauds" — Nicki's aggressively underwhelming response to "SHEther" — should finally be the nail in that theory's coffin. Because its solid, concrete proof that she, in fact, writes her own rhymes. Because if she had a team of ghostwriters working around the clock for the past three weeks — brainstorming and burning the midnight oil — they definitely, absolutely, totally would have written something better than her 40-degree-day-ass verse in this 30-degree-day-ass song. (Also, the irony of an actor who regularly raps about "running up on niggas" and a Fisher Price: My Very First Gang Sign blood hopping on a track called "No Frauds" isn't lost on anyone. Young Mula. Baby.)
And yes, I know Nas took months to respond to "The Takeover" with "Ether" and, based on that precedent, we shouldn't jab Nicki about it taking three whole weeks to respond. But that was in 2001, when niggas still used dial-up connections, AOL, and Ask Jeeves. Today, if a big news story breaks and you happen to write for The Washington Post or the New York Times or even VSB, you're expected to be able to produce 600-1000 solid and publishable words on it immediately. Not a day after it happens, but in an hour or two. We just have a different expectation of the immediacy of media. And, in 2017, three weeks is a long ass fucking time to wait for lukewarm basura.