Don’t call it a comeback (yet)…
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[6.44]
Alfred Soto: Her pop profile shrunken to invisibility, she pairs up with Nicki Minaj, at her label’s insistence no doubt, and lets the rapper run away with half the song. But from the siren samples to the rhymes there’s nothing worth stealing.
[4]
Patrick St. Michel: This probably works within the context of Ciara’s forthcoming album — though why she let bad Nicki Minaj drop the first verse on it is a good question, as it’s the post-breakup jam that eventually leads to the relationship bliss of “Body Party.” By itself, this is just sorta awkward, bubbly getting-over-you pop squaring off with ominous backing music that buzzes like a hornet’s nest at times.
[5]
Iain Mew: One short phrase, two meanings. “I’m out” as an exit, a Dragons’ Den-style declaration that you, ex, are not worth the investment. Or “I’m out” as a status update on current activities, sorry that I can’t hear you, I’m kinda busy. The stupendously dramatic production and the way that Ciara delivers the words like a door slamming shut suggest the first one, but there’s enough joy threaded throughout to make the second work too. Nicki is reduced to entertaining sideshow, which always takes quite a song.
[8]
Crystal Leww: I really like this a lot, but I can’t help but wonder how much better it would be if this was just a Nicki Minaj track. Sorry, C.
[7]
Will Adams: Nicki is on point, dominating the proceedings with a storm-gathering first verse and an outro that points the spotlight back at her – lifting the cadence from her legendary “Dance (A$$)” verse and adding a delicious last line. And while it’s thrilling to hear, it’s easy to forget that Nicki is the featured artist here. It’s too bad, because Ciara turns out a fine performance, pushing through high-stakes production – complete with choirs and the “Woo! Yeah!” sample – and evincing a club-ready joy that sidles this right next to Katy B’s “Got Paid.” But in the end, it’s all about Nicki.
[7]
Jonathan Bogart: I’m not sure why Nicki’s conflation of rap-game dominance over unspecified bitches with the post-breakup self-love and trash talking in Ciara’s portions of the song bothers me so much — surely hating on haters is hating on haters whether they’re romantic or professional. But that the song was boring enough that these questions even raised themselves speaks for itself.
[6]
Katherine St Asaph: Ciara’s melody would sound cloying if it weren’t set against sirens, synth claps sounding more pitiless than usual, backing vocals from the Erinyes, Nicki Minaj more weaponized than she’s been in years and both women targeting men like a laser-targeted jealousy beam. This ain’t feel-good, it’s the rap game Red Wedding. And sometimes, in breakups and comebacks, you’ve got to be out for blood.
[7]
Brad Shoup: There’s something in the structure and emphasis of Ciara’s verses that would call for Patwah. Praise the Lord, she doesn’t agree, but I still gotta wait for the bridge for something compelling from her. Perhaps spending the whole song in her upper range would overlap with Nicki’s (who’s great, btw). No matter; this is a nice, mildly gothic piece of club-hop. Buzzy synths and operatic vocal scales surround the bass like magnetic fields. The more I listen, the more its power transfers to the headliner.
[7]
Anthony Easton: Nicki Minaj, post-American Idol, seems to be making an argument for her role as a skilled MC. She keeps up with Ciara and kind of exceeds her. That the heavenly choir begins in Minaj’s verse that discusses her ass and her tits might be a triumph of girl power. But that it still plays out with this sexual competition might hint that this is not a triumph of feminism. Extra point for the line “not even Hammer can touch this.”
[7]