Nicki Minaj, Willow Smith – Fireball [Video]

Say what you will about the popification of hip hop’s reigning Queen, Nicki Minaj, or the bubblegumness of rap royalty heiress Willow Smith (who apparently simply goes by “Willow” now), but when the child of one of the world’s biggest movie stars and one of the world’s biggest music stars team up to make a song and video, it’s a big deal.

In this case, it’s also a pretty big fail, all things considered.

Veteran video director Hype Williams uses the force of overused concepts and opens with dazzling special effects, which do nothing to distract from the impending doom of Willow’s doing her best (worst) Rhianna channeling and Minaj’s less-than-stellar contribution.

We’re happy to give both a pass, after all Willow is a kid, and Nicki is clearly playing much more to her demographic on “Fireball,” but that being said, Willow had an unquestionable pop hit with “Whip My Hair,” and Nicki Minaj is often much more dynamic on guest appearances, so to see each performer essentially phone it in, was a bit unexpected.

We’re sure dad and mom are proud, but it’s kinda like when your kid hits a home run in Little League, but really only scores because everyone on defense makes an error.

Overall, “Fireball” is a painfully uninspiring effort than may (thankfully) quickly extinguish, even among the follow-the-musical-leader youngens that the song is intended to be a hit with.