This sober piano-driven track finds Minaj brooding about her personal struggles and the price of fame. It features her singing with soft vocals rather than the rapid-fire rhymes the Queens MC is best known for. The song was inspired by American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), whose "dumb blonde" persona was used to comic effect in a series of 1950s comedies including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Some Like it Hot (1959). Despite being revered as one of the most prominent sex symbols during that period, the final years of Monroe's life were dogged by personal problems caused by the constant media attention. Since her tragic early death, aged 36, she has become one of the most famous Hollywood icons of the twentieth century.
When Minaj sings: "Call me the cursed/ Or just call me blessed/ If you can't handle my worst / You ain't getting my best / Is this how Marilyn Monroe felt?" she is alluding to one of Monroe's best-known quotes: "I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
Several songs have been inspired by Marilyn Monroe's struggles to do with fame, the best known being Elton John's "Candle In The Wind," which he later rewrote as a tribute to another tragic 20th century icon, Princess Diana.
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