Posted by Although released in 2011, Super Bass is still one of the most beloved songs ever made by Nicki Minaj. Because of the catchy melody, of course, but also because the song represents a nice side of the Trinidadian singer: she likes a boy and has no problems saying it explicitly, in a playful way. Let’s delve together into the several aspects of the song’s lyrics and discover their meaning.
You can find the official video of the song below.
Super Bass: inside the meaning of the lyrics
Super Bass is about a girl who likes a boy and wants to show it. Nicky appreciates this guy’s look, style, and personality in the lyrics, and the song’s lines are her spontaneous and playful reaction to his presence.
As Nicki Minaj said about the song:
“‘Super Bass’ is about the boy that you are crushing over. And you kind of want to get your mack on, but you’re taking the playful approach.”
He pop bottles and he got the right kind of build
He cold, he dope, he might sell coke
He always in the air, but he never fly coach
He a mothafu**in trip, trip, sailor of the ship, ship
When he make it drip, drip, kiss him on the lip, lip
That’s the kinda dude I was lookin’ for
The singer has a funny way of expressing her appreciation: she looks relaxed, urban, confident, a girl with whom you can immediately get close and speak frankly. She sincerely likes him, and she says it in lines that leave no doubts, like:
I said, excuse me, you’re a hell of a guy
I mean, my, my, my, my, you’re like pelican fly
I mean, you’re so shy and I’m loving your tie
You’re like slicker than the guy with the thing on his eye, oh
“Pelican fly” is probably an expression coming from Brian DePalma’s Scarface, from a scene where Tony Montana comments about flying pelicans on the TV. From this point of view, being a pelican fly could mean being the man everybody wants, comparing him to a fictional character that reached the top of his part of society. Instead, “the guy with the thing on his eye” refers to Slick Rick, one of the first prominent rappers of history, so defining the guy slicker than Slick Rick is a huge sign of esteem.
The way Nicki Minaj seems fascinated by this guy is evident from the chorus’ lines:
Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Beatin’ like a drum and it’s comin’ your way
Can’t you hear that
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
He got that super bass
We know Nicki has a physical way of expressing and experiencing love, so it’s natural for her to say how much he likes him by describing her heartbeat when she looks at him. That resounds with the Super Bass from the song’s title, which refers to the powerful audio system the guy has installed in his car.
Going on with her thoughts, the second verse of the song becomes explicit:
He could ball with the crew, he could solo
But I think I like him better when he dolo
And I think I like him better with the fitted cap on
He ain’t even gotta try to put the mack on
He just gotta give me that look, when he give me that look
Then the panties comin’ off, off, uh
“Liking him when he dolo” could refer to down low, slang for going down under her. The fitted cap could be the condom, which would match the fact that when he gives her that look, she takes out her panties. It’s indeed a fun way to express how she likes him: direct, genuine, effective.
Going beyond Super Bass lyrics and their meaning, we can see Nicki Minaj’s character and style when she likes someone: she expresses her spontaneity as a strength, and she tries to seduce him with her physical confidence and sex appeal. She has serious intentions, though, as we understand in one of the song’s last lines:
See, I need you in my life for me to stay
Know, know, know, know, know, I know you’ll stay
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The complete lyrics
This one is for the boys with the boomin’ system
Top down, AC with the cooler system
When he come up in the club, he be blazin’ up
Got stacks on deck like he savin’ up
And he ill, he real, he might gotta deal
He pop bottles and he got the right kind of build
He cold, he dope, he might sell coke
He always in the air, but he never fly coach
He a mothaf**in trip, trip, sailor of the ship, ship
When he make it drip, drip, kiss him on the lip, lip
That’s the kinda dude I was lookin’ for
And yes, you’ll get slapped if you’re lookin’, ho
I said, excuse me, you’re a hell of a guy
I mean, my, my, my, my, you’re like pelican fly
I mean, you’re so shy and I’m loving your tie
You’re like slicker than the guy with the thing on his eye, oh
Yes, I did, yes, I did
Somebody please tell em who the F I is
I am Nicki Minaj, I mack them dudes up
Back coupes up and chuck the deuce up
Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Beatin’ like a drum and it’s comin’ your way
Can’t you hear that
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s that super bass
Boom, boom, boom, badoom (Bass, bass)
Boom, boom, boom (Bass, yeah)
Boom, boom, boom, badoom (Bass, bass)
Boom, boom, boom (Bass)
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s that super bass (Yo, yo)
This one is for the boys in the polos
Entrepreneur n***as and the moguls
He could ball with the crew, he could solo
But I think I like him better when he dolo
And I think I like him better with the fitted cap on
He ain’t even gotta try to put the mack on
He just gotta give me that look, when he give me that look
Then the panties comin’ off, off, uh
Excuse me, you’re a hell of a guy
You know, I really got a thing for American guys
I mean, sigh, sickenin’ eyes
I can tell that you’re in touch with your feminine side, uh
Yes, I did, yes, I did
Somebody please tell ’em who the F I is
I am Nicki Minaj, I mack them dudes up
Back coupes up and chuck the deuce up
Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Beatin’ like a drum and it’s comin’ your way
Can’t you hear that
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s that super bass
Boom, boom, boom, badoom (Bass, bass)
Boom, boom, boom (Bass, yeah)
Boom, boom, boom, badoom (Bass, bass)
Boom, boom, boom (Bass)
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s that super bass (Yo, yo)
See, I need you in my life for me to stay
Know, know, know, know, know, I know you’ll stay
No, no, no, no, no, don’t go away, hey
Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Don’t you hear that heartbeat comin’ your way?
Oh, it be like
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Can’t you hear that
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
Boy, you got my heartbeat runnin’ away
Beatin’ like a drum and it’s comin’ your way
Can’t you hear that
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass?
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s that super bass
Boom, boom, boom, badoom (Bass, bass)
Boom, boom, boom (Bass, yeah)
Boom, boom, boom, badoom (Bass, bass)
Boom, boom, boom (Bass)
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
He got that super bass
Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass
Yeah, that’s that super bass (Yo, yo)
