Lil Wayne ft. Nicki Minaj – Knockout [Video]

When Lil Wayne‘s not smuggling around mp3 players in Rikers Island, he is dropping videos, including this one for “Knockout,” the auto-tuned, rocked out joint which finds Weezy musically expressing his admiration for Nicki Minaj in an energetic boxing-themed motif, which along with Nicki’s rapid-fire eyelash-batting, hurriedly matches the oh-Mickey-you’re-so-fine-ish energy of the track.

Despite the generally bad reviews for Wayne’s Rebirth project, we’ve gone on the record stating that Wayne is doing what any high caliber, talented hip hop artist does once he’s reached a certain plateau. Experiment. And while much experiment in hip hop sucks (due to experimentation for the sake of experimentation), we have to look at the track and the accompanying video with appreciation, for the temporary New Yorker and Queens’ Queen Minaj. It’s not a horrible track, but as in many of her appearances lately, Minaj is the highlight.

Also, let’s remind our readers… We’ve long held the position that Nicki Minaj is more than the cartoonish Barbie that was being focused on, and insist that there is a depth of talent and artistry hidden within her persona. With recent verses on Gyptian‘s joint (the most authentic-patois sounding female MC since Foxy, sorry Kim), Usher‘s “Little Freak” (which we think she ripped), Diddy‘s Hello, “Good Morning” remix and now this, we continue to be sure that her versatility, charisma and straight up ability, if unappreciated, is being underrated.

We’re Nicki Minaj fans, and we’re willing to discuss, should you disagree. In any event, check the new vid from the out of sight, but not out of mind, Lil Wayne and our guilty pleasure, Ms. Nicki Minaj.