Nicki Minaj was not always the chart-topping rapper she is today. Prior to finding success as a female wordsmith, Minaj was working odd jobs and studying to become an actress. Jimmy Fallon pressed the rapper on her former jobs on The Tonight Show last night, Dec. 16, eventually finding out that The Pinkprint mastermind used to work at Red Lobster. Skylar Grey then joined Minaj for "Bed of Lies."
Fallon complimented Minaj on her acting chops in The Other Woman, in which she played Cameron Diaz's assistant with a "terrible attitude." Minaj admitted that she was not always the most hospitable waitress before hitting it big.
"I've probably waited on people in this audience, as a matter of fact," she joked. "Hi, if you've ever eaten at Red Lobster, I probably took your order."
"That's what made you who you are. That's what started The Pinkprint," Fallon added.
Minaj agreed, saying that those jobs forced her to chase her dream. That led to acting school, singing lessons and, eventually, honing her rap skills.
The performance starts with Grey's silky vocals about mistrust before Minaj comes barreling in. It was a good choice for the rapper since songs like "Anaconda" and "Only" show off a raunchier side that has almost become her signature style. "Bed of Lies" is personal, and she wanted all of late night to know.
"In a surprise twist, The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj's third studio album, is less a clash of sonic ideals and more an exploration of emotional turmoil," The A.V. Club wrote. "This isn't a battle of hip-hop vs. pop; it's a look inside the cold, isolated milieu that fame creates. Much of the album's sorrow is fueled by a split with longtime boyfriend and alleged husband Safaree "SB" Samuels, and she breaks privacy to confront all that plagues her through a public lens for the first time."
