FUSE TV - Pre-Fame Nicki Minaj Video Surfaces

Once upon a time, before she showed up to the GRAMMY Awards with a Catholic priest on her arm, before she was a Young Money/Cash Money Boy, before she beefed extensively with Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj was a gritty New York rapper who sounded like Lil' Kim. In this video, uploaded to the official YMCMB YouTube account yesterday, Minaj raps in a Kangol, wearing long nails and big hoop earrings and stands in front of one of those metal gates that storeowners in questionable neighborhoods use to keep robbers out at night. It's grimy, it's rough, but it's not embarrassing in the way that a lot of rappers' pre-fame videos are, like when people found video of The Game on Change of Heart.