In a GQ profile this week, Nicki Minaj deftly skirts her interviewer’s questions about everything derriere-related. But as much as she says she’s ready to change the topic, it’s hard to get away from what is — at the very least — the heavily implied subject of her latest single, “Anaconda.”
In a promo for MTV’s European Music Awards, references to the backside abound: in a jiggling Jell-o mold, side-by-side hamburger buns, and an emoji — renamed, in her honor, an E-Minaji — inspired by the song’s salacious album art. The brief video imagines that after hosting the award ceremony, Minaj’s star is elevated from queen of rap to queen of the world, complete with gilded throne.
But the booty allusions, thankfully, steal less screen-time than images of the rapper asserting her influence in other ways. She’s depicted inspiring hair trends, bridging the rap-opera divide with an operatic adaptation of “Anaconda,” hosting her own late-night show, and ruling a commercial empire. It’s not far from the truth, either. While her face may never grace U.S. currency as it does in the video, she boasts a long and growing list of product endorsements and was the first woman to appear on Forbes’ Hip Hop Cash Kings List. (They’d better find a more gender-neutral name.)
The European Music Awards will be filmed live in Glasgow on Nov. 9. In addition to Minaj’s first major turn as a host, the show will feature performances by Charli XCX, Calvin Harris, and Ed Sheeran.
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Write to Eliza Berman at eliza.berman@time.com