Video: Nicki Minaj x Rihanna, “Fly”

Words by Jesse Serwer

The Trini gyal and the Bajan chick have dropped a video for “Fly,” their collaboration off of Nicki’s 2010 album Pink Friday–just in time for that celebration of pan-Caribbean bredren-and-sistrenhood that is New York City Carnival. It’s unlikely that this was intentional but nice timing, nonetheless. “Fly” wasn’t one of the better songs on “Pink Friday”–and we’re not sure we love it any more after seeing this video–but there’s something to be said about two Caribbean stars of this magnitude joining forces. It would be hard to argue that there are any bigger names with West Indies birth certificates than these two right now. The clip, which starts off looking like a post-apocalyptic car commercial, is set on the site of a plane crash in some sort of suburban neighborhood. For a while, it’s main conceit seems to be how many weird wigs can Nicki wear–there’s one that resembles a late-’80s-hip-hop-style Gumby fade, another with a leopard print. But then, out of nowhere, two ninjas arrive, and we get a taste of Nicki Minaj, martial arts star.