Am I a Nicki fan? This week I’m joined by my friend Enzo Escober for a proper nostalgia trip. We reminisce about the ways that Nicki’s unprecedented, cartoonish female aggression served as real catharsis during our hormonal teenage years, and why her mode of pure id is so endlessly appealing. We also discuss Nicki’s contributions to 2010s Plasticity, the “Black Gaga” comparison (incorrect), and how it feels to watch her kick, bite, and scream to avoid passing the torch. 

Enzo Escober is a writer and critic from Manila. He has been published in Guernica, Slate, The Drift, and The Los Angeles Review of Books, among others. He is the co-host of Diva Discourse, a podcast about Beyoncé, and lives in Brooklyn. 

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