None of these monikers have yet been applied to Nicki Minaj, but it can surely be only a matter of time.
For this diminutive rap sensation is beginning to earn plaudits as much for the genius of her lyrics as for the vibrancy of her music.
The Ugly Truth enlisted the help of one of Britain's best known authors and literary critics, Will Self, to dissect Minaj's words and find out what makes them so special.
'Superbass', from the album Pink Friday (2010)
"He just gotta give me that look, when he give me that lookThen the panties comin' off, off, uh.....
When he make it drip, drip kiss him on the lip, lip
That's the kind of dude I was lookin' for
And yes you'll get slapped if you're lookin' hoe"
Will Self: “What's remarkable here is Minaj's ability to take a provocative subject – casual sex – and give it the most brutally honest of treatments, with no clemency, no mercy, no dilution of substance. The listener is also left wondering about “that look” she twice refers to.
There's a real mystery to this line which lingers long after the record has ended.
Finally, you cannot help but admire the searing bluntness of the last line, which hammers home one of life's fundamental truths – if you're lookin' hoe, you're going to get slapped.”
'Starships' from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012)
“Jump in my hooptie hooptie hoopI own that
And I ain’t paying my rent this month
I owe that”
Will Self: 'Hooptie' is an American colloquialism for a car, and from Minaj's repetition of the word it is clear she wants the listener to understand her sense of pride in her vehicle. She goes on to say that she owns this vehicle, and makes it clear that her vehicle is more important to her than her legal obligation to pay her rent on time. When I first heard these lyrics, I was taken aback by their brazenness, but as is typical with Minaj's work, the real meaning sinks in some time later. She is highlighting what it means to be enslaved by the global economic malaise, which leaves us all with a stark choice between paying our rent and keeping our hooptie.
'Whip It' from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012)
"Woah.Is that my cue? I'm looking for some brain to boost my IQ
I'm like 5'2, my SAT scores was high too.
But I don't mean to brag I louis vuitton bag em
Hopped out the jag proceeded to sha shag em."
Will Self: False modesty can be grating, but it can also be a powerful weapon in the hands of a skilled wordsmith like Minaj.
The listener is sucked into thinking that here is a young woman of brittle nature, plagued by self-doubt because of her height and fears over her intelligence.
But then she neatly spins this developing notion on its head, with two references to her material success – Louis Vuitton and Jaguar - and another nod to sexual conquest.
'Pound the Alarm' from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012)
"Pumps on and them little mini skirts is outI see some good girls, I'm a turn 'em out
Ok bottle, sip, bottle, guzzle
I'm a bad bitch, no muzzle, what?
Bottle, sip, bottle, guzzle
I'm a bad bitch, no muzzle, let's go."
Will Self: There is a real bleakness to these lyrics. The 'good girls' are clearly the inner voices in Minaj's head, urging her to curb her hedonistic excesses, but ultimately, they are doomed to be drowned out by her rampant alcoholism. As with so many tragic creative mavericks before her, Minaj refuses to be constrained by the conventions of appropriate behaviour and will always choose to 'guzzle' rather than be 'muzzled'.
Va Va Voom, from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012)
"Just met a boy, just met a boy whenHe could become my little problem
'Cause he look like he modelling clothes in Dublin
So I think that he gettin' that Green like Goblin
Hear through the grape vine that he hang low
We could shoot a movie, could bang, like Rambo
Boom, boom pow, this thing so bingo
Wondering if he could understand my lingo"
Will Self: 
Here is an example of how Minaj likes to throw cultural references around like confetti at a wedding.
But there is also something darker at play here. Who is the goblin, and why is he becoming her little problem?
Minaj hints at psychological breakdown without ever revealing enough for the listener to work out whether she is for real or just playing with us.
Finally, her references to bingo and Rambo show she is just as in touch with the common man as Shakespeare was more than 400 years ago.
What are your favourite Nicki Minaj lyrics? Email hooptiehooptiehoop@gmail.com
