Only

Album: The Pinkprint (2014)
Charted: 35 12
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song features Nicki Minaj going head to head with Young Money labelmates Drake and Lil Wayne as they rap a verse each. The Queen of the Barbz kicks off the song shutting down rumors of her sleeping with Lil Wayne and Drake in a very explicit way. Drake reiterates that he's never had sexual relations with Nicki, but would if she hadn't already got a man. Wayne brings home the final verse, which continues the hardcore lyrical content as the Young Money boss' fantasies about sleeping with the Queens MC.
  • The Young Money trio have a history of flirting with each other. Nicki Minaj rapped some dirty talk directed at Wayne in 2009's "Bedrock" whilst Drake expressed his love for the Queens MC on the 2010 track "Miss Me" and expressed a wish to tie the knot with her in "Moment 4 Life" the same year.
  • Chris Brown croons the hook. Breezy and Drake had a long-standing feud that included a bottle throwing incident at a New York City club in 2012. This was his first appearance on a track with the Toronto MC after the pair decided to move on from their issues.
  • The song was produced by Dr. Luke and Cirkut. The hitmaking producers previous collaborations with Minaj include the singles "Va Va Voom" and "Pills N Potions."
  • Minaj released the song soon after a rumoured split from long-term boyfriend Safaree Samuels. However any suggestions that the cut was a subliminal message now she's reportedly single again were put away after Samuels revealed that he was in the studio while the tune was being recorded.
  • Minaj released a lyric music video for the song which premiered close to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 76th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, which marked the start of the Holocaust. The militaristic animated short was directed by Jeff Osbourne and depicts animated versions of Minaj, Lil Wayne, Drake, and Chris Brown amidst Nazi-inspired imagery and flags emblazoned with 'YM' (representing Young Money).

    The video provoked an immediate backlash, with many calling the clip anti-semitic and insensitive. The Anti-Defamation League's National Director and Holocaust survivor Abraham H. Foxman lambasted the promo saying: "Nicki Minaj's new video disturbingly evokes Third Reich propaganda and constitutes a new low for pop culture's exploitation of Nazi symbolism."

    Drake, who is Jewish, was also criticized for his involvement in the visual.

    Minaj addressed the criticism, saying: "The artist who made the lyric video for "Only" was influenced by a cartoon on Cartoon Network called "Metalocalypse" & Sin City." Both the producer, & person in charge of over seeing the lyric video (one of my best friends and videographer: A. Loucas), happen to be Jewish."

    "I didn't come up w/the concept, but I'm very sorry and take full responsibility if it has offended anyone," she added. "I'd never condone Nazism in my art."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Maria Muldaur

Maria MuldaurSongwriter Interviews

The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"They're Playing My Song

With the band in danger of being dropped from their label, Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith co-wrote the song that started their trek from horror show curiosity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.