Sucka Free
Sucka Free is the second mixtape by New York–based rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on April 12, 2008, by Dirty Money Records. Sucka Free features guest appearances from fellow rappers Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Jadakiss, Lil' Kim and Ransom. Production derives from Daven "Prestige" Vanderpool, Diddy, James Todd Smith, among others.
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.In a promotional photo for the mixtape, Minaj's pose paid homage to a photoshoot from rapper Lil' Kim's debut album, Hard Core, causing Kim to express anger on Twitter. Despite Minaj calling Kim an "influence" early in her career, tensions rose between the two 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 later commented on the situation in an interview with The Angie Martinez Show, saying "She picked a fight with Foxy, then she picked a fight with Eve, then she picked a fight with Remy, then it was Mrs. Wallace, then it was Nicki 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."
Critical reception
In a 2014 article, NME 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 Eminem and The Notorious B.I.G.'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, on songs such as "Four Door Aventador". The song was also called a "triumph and an omen" in a Paper Magazine article, but that it was hardly comparable to Minaj's fourth studio album, Queen. With high praise response from critics, Minaj won an award for Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.