Nicki Shows Good Girl Charm In “Your Love” Video

From the looks of Nicki Minaj’s new video “Your Love” and her recent performances at Hot 97’s Summer Jam and the BET Awards, it seems as if the self-proclaimed rap “Barbie” might have officially toned down her sexed up image.  After releasing four mixtapes, two singles, and appearing on a host of album tracks and singles, the leading lady of Young Money Entertainment has flipped her MC persona—again.  In an interview with Vibe magazine, Minaj dropped hints about curbing her sex bomb image stating “When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot… and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing.”  And in June 2010, she told Interview magazine that she “made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.”  In effect, standing on her word, the “Your Love” video debut unveils a sexy hip hop doll suitable for younger audiences.

This is far from the Nicki Minaj who buzzed onto the rap scene with sexually charged photos and lyrics which, arguably, resembled MC heavy weight lil Kim who also paved her way to flame by flaunting an over-the-top female sexual aggression.  Thus, it almost seemed safe to assume that Nicki would, like predecessors lil Kim and Foxy Brown, mark her way to stardom by trumpeting a bodacious bod and her signature larger than life booty.   However, in “Your Love,” her second released single and major production video, we’re presented with a classy and subdued image of the rap star with girlish charm and poise.  This sexually tame portal of Miss Minaj was also unearthed in Diddy-Dirty Money’s video “Hello Good Morning (Remix)” in which the camera focuses on Nicki’s upper torso throughout her entire feature -with only a dignified amount of cleavage showing.

So, is Nicki’s sudden stance on female exploitation in media and the effects it has on young girls really the power pushing her image transformation?  Well, let’s see.

In March 2010, Minaj released her first video for the single, “Massive Attack” featuring Sean Garret in which in one scene, Nicki plays a sexy seductress parading her ass-ets in a grunge bikini.  Sexy model Amber Rose also made an cameo in the video.  Yet, despite these efforts, the video still plummeted on the rating charts, thus prompting the release of the “Your Love” single  and video a few months later.  This may have well been the test-and-trail error that sparked a new softer and moralistic side of the rising star.

Nicki’s swift style switch is also adjacent to the time that Hip Hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs began managing her career.  In effect, maybe Diddy thought that Nicki could use a dose of the chic and sleek front he maintains himself, as opposed to the sex pot, Queen-wanna-Bee image she first projected.

Despite the reason or reasons behind Nicki’s new look, the real question is whether her animated and clever verses will be enough to keep viewers tuned in.  “Your Love” has proven to be Minaj’s most successful single to date, peaking at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and although she is showing less skin, her fans seem to be supporting her regardless.

Watch “Your Love” after the jump, and give us your take.