''Sucka Free'' is the second

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

. It was released on April 12, 2008, through Dirty Money Records. ''Sucka Free'' features guest appearances from fellow rappers

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with Bad ...

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

and Ransom. Production derives from Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool, Diddy, James Todd Smith, among others. None of the tracks have original instrumentals, using other productions of popular hip hop records.

Background

Just after Minaj's previous mixtape, '' Playtime Is Over'', was released in 2007, Minaj released ''Sucka Free'' with label mate Lil Wayne after he discovered her on the Queens-made DVD series called ''The Come Up''.

Artwork

The cover of this tape shows Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne at a podium in front of a red curtain being interviewed by '' XXL'' and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. Minaj is wearing a gold-colored necklace and earrings, a halfway buttoned down red shirt, and striped pants similar to the ones she is wearing on the ''Playtime Is Over'' mixtape. Lil Wayne is wearing a red garment with a silver watch and silver chains, with a black hat titled "Young Money".

Lil' Kim controversy

In a promotional photo for the mixtape, Minaj paid homage to that of rapper

's debut album photoshoot, '' Hard Core'' causing Kim to express anger on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. Despite Minaj calling Kim an "influence" early in her career, tensions rose between the two females with Kim calling Minaj "catty" and accused her of copying her image saying, "If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something gotta give. You help me, I help you. That's how it goes to me." Minaj responded to the situation in an interview on The Angie Martinez Show saying "She picked a fight with Foxy, then she picked a fight with

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

, then she picked a fight with Remy, then it was Mrs. Wallace, then it was Nicki Minaj", said Minaj. "Every time you in the news, it's 'cause you gettin' at somebody! Where's your music? Put your music out, and when I see your name on ''Billboard'', that's when I'll respond to you. Other than that, goodbye. It's Barbie, bitch." Minaj also went on to respond to Kim on "

Roman's Revenge "Roman's Revenge" is a song by Tranidadian-born rapper Nicki Minaj featuring American rapper Eminem, performing as their respective alter egos Roman Zolanski and Slim Shady. Taken from her debut studio album ''Pink Friday'' (2010), written alon ...

," a song from her debut album, in 2010 with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

Critical reception

In a 2014 article, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' described the mixtape as Minaj's bang "on the door of hip-hop’s boys club" and was described as "explosive". Although Minaj jumped on a "load of popular hip hop instrumentals", she successfully made every track feel like her own. Minaj's remix of

and

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

's " Dead Wrong" was seen as a standout track from the mixtape which called in "comparisons to NYC rap legends like Notorious" and eventually continued by Minaj in her third studio album, ''

The Pinkprint ''The Pinkprint'' is the third studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj, released on December 15, 2014, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Minaj co-executive-produced the album alongside Birdman, Lil Wayne and Rona ...

'', on songs such as " Four Door Aventador". The song was also called a "triumph and an omen" in a ''

Paper Magazine ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and a ...

'' article, but that it was hardly comparable to Minaj's fourth studio album, ''

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

''. With high praise response from critics, Minaj won an award for Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.

Accolades

, - , rowspan="1", 2008 , Nicki Minaj , Female Artist of the Year ,

Commercial performance

The

debuted at number 95 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

Background

Artwork

Lil' Kim controversy

Critical reception

Accolades

Commercial performance

Track listing

Charts

References