An unreleased video of Nicki Minaj, before her Grammy-performing heyday has been uploaded onto YouTube. Although the exact date of the recording is unclear, it appears to date from before her penchant for colourful wigs had taken hold. She displays a certain degree of confidence in the video. Wearing a black cap, large gold hoop earrings and a cross around her neck, she says to the camera, towards the end of the clip "I only rap because I'm good at it, you know. It really was a hobby for a minute but then I was like, look at the state of hip-hop, what's goin' on?"
The clip begins with the track 'Dirty Money,' which begins in earnest with the lines "tell that b*tch with the crown / who running like Chris Brown / she went three rounds." which could potentially date the album to 2009, after Chris Brown's widely publicized assault on Rihanna, but before the release of her debut album in 2010. Towards the end of the video, Minaj freestyles and includes the prophetic line "I'm a winner mummy, yeah, career's a gamble."
Since being uploaded to YouTube yesterday, (February 20, 2012) the video has been viewed over 129,000 times and has sparked debate in the comments section regarding whether or not she was better in the era shown, before she became famous. Although the video posting has been referred to as a 'leak,' it appears to have been posted by her label, Young Money