Massive Attack

Superstars don't always fly on their first try. Michael Jordan didn't make varsity as a sophomore, and Nicki Minaj didn't hit with her first solo single, "Massive Attack." At the time she was well known in hip-hop circles thanks to her mixtapes and her features with Lil Wayne ("Knockout") and Mariah Carey ("Up Out My Face (Remix)"), so "Massive Attack" was primed to deliver, but it stalled at #122 on a Hot 100, a surprising setback. That was about the only thing that went wrong for Minaj that year. She appeared on over a dozen more hits and her next solo single, "Your Love," caught on, reaching #14 and topping the Rap chart, the first woman to do so since Lil' Kim's feature on 50 Cent's "Magic Stick" in 2003.

The song features Sean Garrett, who wrote and co-produced the track along with Alex Da Kid. Sean Garrett is a songwriter and producer who has had a hand in many hit songs, including Chris Brown's "Run It!" and Usher's "Yeah." Minaj said to MTV News: "Shout-out to Sean Garrett. I've always loved his style. He really kinda had a great idea of what I wanted to do. I wanted to be theatrical, but I am very serious about what I do. He was able to mesh that together and have a really fun but direct record, if that makes sense."

The song's music video was shot on March 16 2010 in the deserts of Lancaster, California, with director Hype Williams. The clip features Sean Garrett with cameo appearances by Minaj's label mate Drake, Cash Money co-founder Bryan "Baby" Williams and model Amber Rose. She told MTV News: "I brought my BFF Amber Rose out here. This is a massive attack. We shot the helicopter scene. Obviously, I had to have a hot-pink Lamborghini. We're having fun in the car, and we see a freakin' helicopter chase us. So we get on the walkie-talkie, like, 'Mayday! Mayday!' It's really fashion and beauty shots, and we're acting like we're doing something important. I kinda always like to do things in an unexpected fashion," she added. "I didn't want to shoot the typical new-artist vision. Thank God I have a wonderful label that stands behind me and my vision. I met Hype in a freakin' airport. I didn't recognize him without his dreads. We exchanged information, and it happened to be a week before I wanted to shoot a video. I told him the idea. Of course, I had to let Baby and (Cash Money co-founder) Slim know and hope they would understand my expensive taste. It all came together. Sean Garrett is on the hook."