"The Boys" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj and singer Cassie from the reissue of Minaj's second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up (2012). It was released on September 13, 2012 by Young Money, Cash Money and Universal Republic as the album's lead single. It was written by Minaj, producers Jonas Jeberg and Jean Baptiste, and Anjulie Persaud. It was Minaj's last single released by Universal Republic before the label went defunct and its artists roster moved to the revived Republic Records. Initially a track recorded by Cassie for her second studio album under the title "Money on Love," it was subsequently played for Minaj during sessions for The Re-Up, who decided to keep Cassie's vocals and wrote her own verses with parts of the production re-worked.
Generally categorized as a mix of hip hop and pop, "The Boys" also incorporates elements of other genres, such as dancehall and folk music. Musically, it features strong basslines and synthesizers, along with guitar riffs and rapping. Its lyrical content is described as a "fun but pithy kiss-off to men who try to buy love with money and jewels." The song received positive reviews from music critics. It peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles and number 41 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It also charted in European countries including Belgium, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
An accompanying music video premiered on Vevo on October 18, 2012, and was teased by Minaj with a behind-the-scenes featurette earlier that year. Directed by Colin Tilley, the video was met with generally positive reception. The colorful cartoonish visuals are set in an imaginary neighborhood where Minaj burns down a barbershop with a flamethrower after a visit to a beauty salon. Cassie plays an androgynous-looking character, inspired by the Ken doll, that "mocks the boys a little bit." Minaj performed the track on her Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour (2012).
Background and release
Minaj confirmed the re-issue of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and its lead single in September 2012 at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards." She revealed through Twitter that the song's title was "The Boys" and that a "real pretty" female would be collaborating with her on it, along with a music video being planned for the track. A day later, Minaj tweeted "Thursday" which was believed to be the release date of the single. The song was released on September 13, 2012, being made available for digital download via the iTunes Store. It premiered on American radio platform iHeartRadio that same day.
"The Boys" originated from a demo called "Money on Love" that was initially recorded solely by Cassie and intended to be her second single from her second studio album. Cassie mentioned that the song was different for her and "kind of disrespectful a little," observing, "but the funny thing is, it's more my personality than anything else that anyone else has heard." "It's more of an in-your-face, tougher Cassie." She also defined it as being "a little bit funkier." The album was delayed and the track was subsequently played for Minaj during sessions for The Re-Up. Minaj decided to keep Cassie's vocals on the track, but re-wrote the majority of the verses and additional production elements were also included. "I love her verses on this record, she went in," Cassie told MTV News about working with Minaj, "I love when women collab and are all about girl power. It's not that we're against the boys; we just wanted to sing about them. And Nicki is so inspiring, I learned so much from her just even being on camera and watching her perform." Minaj and Cassie had previously collaborated on the unreleased song "Fuck U Silly," that was leaked online in January 2010.
Composition The BBC described "The Boys" as having "a mix of dancehall, folk and machine gun beats." It was written by Minaj, Anjulie Persaud, along with Jonas Jeberg and Jean Baptiste, who produced and co-produced the track respectively. It features a mix of synth swoops, syncopated percussion and gurgling acoustic guitar arpeggios by Jeberg and Baptiste. It also has a "throbbing beat, harsh basslines and hyperactive breaks." Cassie's parts, written by Canadian pop singer Anjulie, are backed up by a guitar line. Artistdirect characterized the song by stating that it "stirs a perfect storm between clever hip hop, potent pop, and soulful acoustic pondering." They detailed its structure: "Minaj lets haters know what they can do via a blunt, brilliant verse before the otherworldly cyber beat funnels into an impressive infectious robotized refrain," continuing that "then, utterly unexpectedly, the track descends into an acoustic strum and Cassie pristinely singing, 'You get high and fuck a bunch of girls and then cry on top of the world.'"
The song is about a "pithy kiss-off to men who try to buy love with money and jewels." The lyrics include references to the songs "Hey Soul Sister" by Train and "Technologic" by Daft Punk. In the lyrical content, it appears to have Minaj rapping her "most ferocious lines" according to Pitchfork, exemplified by: "I tell 'em Nicki be chillin'/ I'ma keep hurting their feelings/ Because you'll never be Jordan/ You couldn't even be Pippen/ You couldn't even be trippin'/ You can't afford a vacation/ I'm out in Haiti with Haitians/ I go to Asia with Asians/ You mad dusty/ You a lil' dusty possum/ I just come through with the six like my name was Blossom." It is written in the key of C minor at a tempo of 109 beats per minute.
Critical reception The song garnered praise from contemporary music critics. Gerrick D. Kennedy from the Los Angeles Times commented that Minaj has "married the two styles" of rap and pop with "The Boys," adding that the song "begs for immediate radio play" and is a "fresh reminder of the Minaj tracks her rap fans love." Popdust's Nate Jones gave four out of five stars to the track, saying that it is "catchy as hell, but with enough 'credibility'." Writing for Artistdirect, Rick Florino gave the song five out of five stars, calling it "one of Minaj's best tracks yet and a landmark song for 2012," thanking her for "changing the game again" and claiming that "there's no one as exciting as Nicki Minaj in either pop or hip hop." Robbie Daw from Idolator said that the song "probably won't shake out as being the most memorable entry into Nicki's canon of jams," applauding Cassie's vocal contribution: "we dig the way Cassie's soft vocals glide in atop a shimmery acoustic guitar." Carrie Batten of Pitchfork gave it a positive review by writing the track is "a zig-zagging pocket symphony whose bubblegum is so sugary it might actually raise your glycemic index just by hitting your ears." MuuMuse's Bradley Stern called the duet "fiery" and "robo-tastic," also comparing "The Boys" to Minaj's previous singles "Super Bass" and "Stupid Hoe."
A writer for The Huffington Post stated: "The track is actually interesting because it vacillates from rap song to some version of a downtempo singer-songwriter tune." Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine positively expressed that the song "mixes hard and soft, with Minaj's Daft Punk-inspired flow complemented by an acoustic guitar-accompanied chorus." MTV's Michael Depland remarked that "on her latest banga, Nicki spits hot rhymes while Cassie brings the smooth vocals," and recognized they "make a pretty spectacular team." Nadeska Alexis of the same publication wrote that "the rapper has finally found a bit of balance between her hip-hop roots and her pop persona," attributing that to the fact "while the radio-ready beat is certainly pop, Minaj also gets back to spitting bars," noticing Cassie's "sugary hook." Spin Marc Hogan deemed it "a hybrid between the light, buoyant pop of Minaj's biggest hit to date, "Super Bass," and her old, unhinged guest and mixtape appearances." Mickey Woods from Glamour felt that "The Boys" is "just as rainbow-brite spaz-tastic as we've come to expect from Nicki," elaborating, "Kaleidoscopic in its scope, the song practically zig-zags through genres and rapid-fire rhyme schemes while somehow managing to sound catchy enough to give me one of those insta-sugar boosts that only the catchiest pop music can give."
Music video Background and concept Minaj announced that a video for "The Boys" was in the works during a Twitter Q&A with fans in early September 2012. It was filmed later that month at a closed studio set in Los Angeles. The music video was directed by Colin Tilley, who had worked with Minaj in the music video for "I Am Your Leader" earlier that year. Behind-the-scenes footage was shared online on October 3, 2012, showing a colorful pink set with Minaj wearing neon colored clothing and driving around a block in a "souped-up pink whip" featuring "Barb-inspired delights" and her alter ego Roman's own ice cream parlor. Minaj can be heard saying, "Whoa, I wanna live on this block." She teased still shots from the video in the days leading up to its release. The official music video for "The Boys" premiered on October 18, 2012, on Vevo.
Cassie explained everyone had an opportunity to play on set with their interpretation of the track, and she came up with the idea of sporting a men's suit with Ken doll-inspired hair while counting money to "mock the boys a little bit." The final scene originated from Tilley so there would be "some sort of ending to the story." She cleared up the original concept and talked about the experience: "[Nicki's] taking over, she's re-upping, she's re-loading, so that was just Colin's off-the-wall concept and idea but I love it. I've never done a video that's actually felt like pop art when I was on the set. It was really cool."
Synopsis
The colorful visuals, set in an imaginary neighborhood, open with a white fountain flowing with pink liquid, introducing the director and the two artists in the video. The scene changes to a woman reading a newspaper with Minaj's photo on the cover next to the headline "Barber Shop Burns Down After "Freak" Flame-Thrower Accident," Minaj is then quickly seen looking maliciously at the camera indicating her as the culprit. A scene is shown of a man unconsciously knocked out with sounds of fire alarms going off. The scene changes to Minaj crashing a pink car, with men smirking at her as she steps out wearing a yellow and pink wig. Minaj begins walking down a colorful street rapping to the song, with men behind her dressed in pink holding umbrellas. Cassie is shown singing the chorus in the same setting with a yellow mohawk, multicolored blazer, white pants and black platforms, with men gazing in awe while ostentatiously lusting after her, as women continue to roller skate in the background. The scene then cuts to Cassie in a white bikini in a pink and white polka dotted room with a giant ball of the same pattern. The angle switches to Minaj pulling off in an orange Campagna T-Rex, in a yellow background sporting a blonde wig, a pink bikini, and shades. Minaj joins Cassie in the polka-dotted scene, donning a blue and pink wig this time, and a yellow and black outfit with blue shoes, while Cassie continues to sing her part. Minaj sensually touches Cassie, dancing in precarious positions along Cassie's waistline and thighs.