| "No Frauds" | ||||
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| Single byNicki Minaj,Drake andLil Wayne | ||||
| Released | March 10, 2017 (2017-03-10) | |||
| Recorded | 2017 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:32 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Nicki Minaj singles chronology | ||||
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| Drake singles chronology | ||||
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| Lil Wayne singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "No Frauds" onYouTube | ||||
"No Frauds" is adiss track by rappersNicki Minaj,Drake andLil Wayne. It is a response toRemy Ma's 2017 song "Shether", a nearly seven-minute-long diss track aimed at Minaj. Produced byMurda Beatz andCubeatz, it was released as a single on March 10, 2017, byYoung Money,Cash Money, andRepublic alongside "Changed It" and "Regret in Your Tears". In the song, Minaj criticizes Ma for her prison sentence and her record sales, among other things.
"No Frauds" debuted and peaked at number 14 on theBillboard Hot 100. Critics compared the song poorly to "Shether" and criticized Drake and Lil Wayne's appearances on the song. On April 19, theBenny Boom-directed music video for "No Frauds" was released, and showed the rappers in various locations throughoutLondon. The video garnered backlash due to a scene featuring Minaj on theWestminster Bridge a month after the2017 Westminster attack.
Throughout the mid-2000s, American rapperRemy Ma, a member of thehip hop groupTerror Squad, frequently referred to herself in lyrics as the "queen of rap" and the "queen ofNY".[1] In 2007, Nicki Minaj released her debutmixtape,Playtime is Over, featuring the song "Dirty Money", on which she raps, "Tell that bitch with the crown to run it likeChris Brown," over the beat from Ma andFat Joe's song "Yeah Yeah Yeah" from Terror Squad's final album,True Story. Ma, believing the verse to be directed towards her, confronted Minaj during a release party about the lyric.[2] Ma was later sentenced to eight years in jail on charges of first-degree assault in May 2008 after shooting a friend of hers, who allegedly stole several hundred dollars from Ma.[3] During Ma's time in jail, Minaj rose to fame. In August 2014, upon her release from prison, Ma spoke kindly about Minaj in interviews, stating that she was supported by Minaj during her time in jail and that she wanted to record a song with her.[4] By late 2016, Ma had rapped several verses which fans perceived to be against Minaj, including in acypher during the2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, on her song "Money Showers" with Fat Joe, on a remix of thePhresher song "Wait a Minute",[5] and in a freestyle onFunkmaster Flex's show on the radio stationHot 97.[6]
In February 2017, Minaj was featured on theJason Derulo song "Swalla", on which she rapped, "I gave these bitches two years, now your time's up/Bless her heart, she throwing shots, but every line sucks," perceived by fans to be a diss towards Ma, with "two years" presumably referencing the two years Ma had spent out of prison at the time of the song's release.[7] Two days later, she released the song "Make Love" with American rapperGucci Mane, where she rapped, "Oooohhh, oh you the qu-e-e-the queen of this here?/One platinum plaque, album flopped, bitch, where?", referencing the fact that Ma had recently received her firstRIAA platinum certification for her song Fat Joe collaboration "All the Way Up", as well as the sales of Ma's album with Fat Joe,Plata O Plomo. Minaj went on to rap, "You see, silly rabbit, to be the queen of rap/You gotta sell records, you gotta get plaques", a reference to Ma's declaration that she was the "queen of rap".[8]
One day after the release of "Make Love", Ma recorded and released the song "Shether", a nearly seven-minute-longdiss track against Minaj which sampled the instrumental fromNas's song "Ether" in which she attacked Minaj for allegedly using aghostwriter, her alleged plastic surgery, her fashion, her record deal, and the child sexual assault charges against Minaj's brother, and more.[9] Minaj responded onInstagram by posting a screenshot of an article showing the opening week sales ofPlata O Plomo as well as a video of American singerBeyoncé calling Minaj a "rap queen".[2] Ma later released a second diss track directed at Minaj, "Another One".[10]
On March 10, 2017, Nicki Minaj released three singles: "Regret in Your Tears", "Changed It" with Lil Wayne, and "No Frauds" with Drake and Lil Wayne, as part of her "#3PackFromParis" collection, recorded during her time atParis Fashion Week.[11] All three singles were intended to appear on her fourth studio album,Queen, but were ultimately kept as standalone singles.[12][13] Following its release, Minaj posted to Instagram, writing that she was issuing a challenge to Ma, giving her "72 hours to drop a hit" and promising her half a million dollars if she was able to "book any show or interview" without mentioning Minaj, adding "Here @Young Money, we don't do diss records, we drop HIT RECORDS & diss u ON them."[10] She also responded to critics who criticized the delayed timing of her response to Ma, writing, "The greats took 3 months to respond to diss records. Queens don't move on peasant time."[14]
"No Frauds" is a diss track aimed at Remy Ma. The song's title and chorus are a response to a lyric from Ma's second diss track against Minaj, "Another One", where she raps, "I swear to God, this chick a real fraud."[15] In the song, Minaj criticizes Ma for her time in jail and her record sales, while also accusing Ma of getting plastic surgery and not being able to get clearance fromJay-Z to include theremix of "All the Way Up" onPlata O Plomo.[10][16] She also makes mention of her own relationship with comedianEllen DeGeneres, rapping, "I am the generous queen, ask Ms. Ellen."[17] She goes on to criticize "Another One" while suggesting that Ma uses a ghostwriter, rapping, "Tried to drop 'Another One', you was itchin' to scrap / You exposed your ghostwriter, now you wish it was scrapped."[15] The song has a "tense" and "sneaky" beat.[18] Social media users compared the song's production to that of Drake's song "Summer Sixteen", also produced byCubeatz.[19]
ForBillboard,Sowmya Krishnamurthy wrote that "No Frauds" "completely misses the point of 'Shether'", adding, "The biggest impediment against 'No Frauds' – lyrics notwithstanding – was timing." Krishnamurthy also considered Drake and Wayne's appearance on the song "misaligned", writing that Minaj was "more than equipped at a solo response".[14] Tom Breihan ofStereogum remarked that the only artist on "No Frauds" who "still sounds as good as ever" is Nicki, calling her verse "a great rap diss verse" and "vicious and righteous and petty and regal", but went on to write, "Remy still won, and I don't think Nicki will ever be able to do anything to change that."[18] Writing forDJBooth, Brian "Z" Zisook called "Shether" "more cutting" and "more impressive" than "No Frauds", adding that Minaj "will be declared the winner by the public internet...as its ['No Frauds'] star power will basically guarantee more play than the quality of the song should merit". Zisook also criticized the appearance of Drake and Lil Wayne on the song, writing that "neither of them addressed the situation" and "the first lesson in Diss Records 101 says you don't bring backup to a rap battle".[20]
"No Frauds" sold 78,861 copies during the first week of its release, debuting and peaking at number 14 on the USBillboard Hot 100 during the week dated April 1, 2017. The song fell 70 spots to number 84 in its second week.[21] Minaj performed "No Frauds" at the2017 Billboard Music Awards and the2017 NBA Awards.[22][23] She also performed the song at theHot 107.9 Birthday Bash concert, where Ma was also performing.[24]
The music video for "No Frauds" was released on April 19, 2017, a month after the song's release, and directed byBenny Boom. The video was filmed in various locations throughoutLondon, including in front ofBig Ben and in a club, and features Minaj, Drake, and Lil Wayne posing in those locations. In the video, Minaj wears clothing fromAlexander McQueen andAgent Provocateur,[25] Demode, and Osmose.[26] Ma'sLove & Hip Hop: New York co-star and former friend, Rah Ali, also makes a cameo in the video.[27] The video was described as "flashy" and "luxurious" by Nolan Feeney ofEntertainment Weekly.[28]
Out's Justin Moran called the "No Frauds" video "surprisingly snoozy", writing, "Boom's treatment seems to rely heavily on Young Money's involvement, as Minaj ultimately gets outshined by the fire looks she wears throughout. Truthfully, her 'No Frauds' video should be credited as, 'Looks, featuring Nicki Minaj'."[29] In 2019, Kelsey Klemme ofE! listed "No Frauds" as one of Minaj's best music videos.[30]
The music video received some backlash and criticism from fans and themedia in the United Kingdom for featuring footage of Minaj on theWestminster Bridge, which had been the site of aterror attack weeks earlier. Previously, it was noted that clips of the bridge in the video would be cut. "When everybody involved in the project heard the news they were devastated and thought it would be in bad taste to feature it. The other London scenes will remain, but it's highly doubtful the bridge footage will make the cut", said an unnamed source from Minaj's camp viaThe Sun. Despite the statement, the scenes still ended up in the final cut of the video.[31][32]
Production
Technical
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[54] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[55] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[56] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[57] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | March 10, 2017 | Digital download | ||
| United States | March 14, 2017 | Rhythmic contemporary | [59] |