Nicki Minaj vs Annie Lennox. Lennox wins.

According to some, Nicki Minaj is one of the most thrilling new talents in US hip-hop. Over the last 12 months, she's stolen thunder from such experienced divas as Mariah and Christina in a string of filth-strewn cameos - and now she's heading for the mainstream in her own right.

Her new single, Your Love, is a bit of a curate's egg, however. While previous releases have been hard as her expertly manicured nails, this is built around Annie Lennox's icy ballad No More I Love You's.

The lyrics are below her usual standard, too. The chorus, in particular, suffers from a ridiculously tortured pun: "For your lovin' I would die hard like Bruce Willis". (It could have been worse, I suppose: "For you I was Bourne like Matt Damon".)

There's a reason for the mis-step - Your Love was never supposed to see the light of day.

"I was not planning on putting the song out at all," Minaj told MTV a couple of weeks ago.

"But then I heard it one day, somebody told me it was online and I was like, 'No way, no way in the world that song is out.' I went and listened to it and was really upset. It wasn't mixed, it wasn't finished, it wasn't anything — I wasn't gonna use it at all. But then radio started playing it."

The record went on to hit number one in the US Rap charts - the first time a woman had topped the countdown since Missy Elliot in 2002.

So, quality control issues aside, this looks like it'll be the launchpad for Minaj's career. Just don't say that it sounds like PM Dawn or she'll come round to your house and bite your face off.

Nicki Minaj - Your Love

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