In November 2015, Kesha’s mom Pebe Sebert posted a tweet that became the center of two defamation lawsuits Dr. Luke filed against her. The tweet stated that “Kesha can’t legally put out music unless she makes it under complete control of a man who raped her at 18.”

The lawsuits were dismissed in 2016. In a joint statement, Pebe admitted that she had no “firsthand knowledge of the events occurring on the night of the alleged rape.”

“Cookie” is slang for a woman’s private parts. As she noted in Queen’s promotional single “Rich Sex,” Nicki’s “cookie” is of high quality. Because of that, sex with her is a necessity for her man. She may even have a baby with him as a way of expressing her love for him.

Note the assonance between “good for him,” “good form” and “good foreign.”

Nicki has always been candid about her preference for pills (particularly Percocet) in her lyrics. On “Anaconda” she raps:

I’m high as hell, I only took a half a pill

Half a pill doesn’t do it for her anymore–she needs more. Now that Nicki is making way more money than she used to, half a million dollars just doesn’t excite her as much as it did when she started out.

Nicki released her first debut album, Pink Friday, in 2010, and although that era was defined by bright colors and her poppy breakout hit “Super Bass,” she proved her prowess by getting Eminem to feature on “Roman’s Revenge.”

She referenced this before on her 2014 track, “Want Some More”:

Who-who-who had Eminem on the first album?

Aretha Franklin is one of the most renowned American R&B singer/songwriters of all time. She had previously held the record for most Billboard 100 Hits by a female artist for 40 years, until March 2017, when Nicki beat her record with 76 hits.

When asked about her opinion on Nicki Minaj, Aretha Franklin hesitates and says, “Nah, I’m gonna pass in that one.” This line is a play on that comment. Aretha Franklin passed away just 6 days after this song was released, and Nicki paid homage to her legacy, so it’s clear there’s no real beef here.

Verse 3 is the turning point, the epiphany of this epic poem. By now, after the long guitar solo, she’s been transformed. The lyrics have more clarity and purpose, and the uneasiness and uncertainty of the previous verses are gone. Now she knows she can go for miles, bring healing to the world, and dance wild.

She’s found relief in social activism—making a difference helps her cope with the strain of life under our corrupt, phony society. She’s naturally compelled to work for causes close to her heart, and she’s dependent on this praxis to live. But we later learn that this is not enough—when the night comes, she must dance, which suggests a more primal, more basic, truer ethos exists.

Verse 2 tells this character’s origin story and reveals her intrinsic motivations—she has a heart for social justice and yearns to make things right in the world. It explains her attraction to the music that ultimately liberates and enlightens her.