Entertainment

Nicki's Back to her Old Tricks

by Alex Kritselis

On Thursday morning, rapper Nicki Minaj unveiled the cover art for her new single, "Anaconda," and it basically blew up the Internet. In the super NSFW shot, Minaj wears only a hot pink bra and a g-string, squatting with her back to the camera (basically, squatting + g-string = whole butt on display). Minaj looks over her shoulder at us, as if to say, "Did you notice that my whole butt is on display? Please notice that my whole butt is on display. Thank you." Oh, Nicholas. I thought you were done with this sort of attention-seeking behavior? I guess not!

Known for rocking wacky wigs and colorful outfits while promoting her first two albums, Minaj totally switched up her style in 2014. Now, she's all about simple makeup, neutral colors, and sleek, form-fitting dresses — or so we thought. Speaking to MTV in April about her new look, Minaj said, “I went so far to the other side that there’s only one place to go from there. You can either continue doing costumes or you can just say, ‘Hey guess what? This will shock them even more. Doing nothing will shock them even more.’” Baring your entire naked ass on the cover for your new single is hardly "doing nothing," but hey! It certainly got people talking (and I imagine that was the point).

When it comes right down to it, I think Minaj just craves attention (see: the recent shade-throwing incident at the 2014 BET Awards). After all, she's a self-proclaimed theater geek! Let's take a look at some of Minaj's most memorable attention-seeking, headline-grabbing moments:

When "The Pope" Was Her Date to the Grammys

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You know, just walking the red carpet with the pope. Casual.

While We're At It, This Entire Grammys Performance

It was just so awkward. Luckily, Minaj released "Starships" a few hours afterwards and all was forgiven (but not forgotten).

Every Time She Posted A Topless Selfie on Instagram

While you can find many topless selfies on Minaj's Instagram, this topless colored pencil drawing is just... breathtaking. NSFW, obviously.

When Her "Feud" With Mariah Carey Was Still Going On

Even Mariah Carey's husband, Nick Cannon, thought the whole thing was just a publicity stunt.

When She Looked Like the Bride of Frankenstein & Also a Leopard

Jason Merritt/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Electrifying!

...And Also Marge Simpson

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

We can't believe you left the house looking like that either, Nicki.

When This Happened & Even She Was Pissed About It

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A Willy Wonka disaster.

When She Went to the VMAs as Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Jason Merritt/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

The resemblance is uncanny. Maybe she was also concerned about contracting SARS?

"Anaconda" hits iTunes on Monday, July 28 (just a day before the premiere of "Bang Bang," Minaj's collaboration with Jessie J and Ariana Grande), but not much else is known about the track at this point. Given the sexual nature of the cover art, I'm guessing that it's going to be an extremely explicit song that uses "anaconda" as slang for a dude's peepee. Just a hunch. Welp, this should be interesting!

Images: NICKIMINAJ/Twitter; Getty Images (5); nickiminaj/Instagram; ilivefortheapplause/Tumblr; nickiholiday/Tumblr; no-onecares-x/Tumblr