Culture

Nicki Minaj’s ‘Roman Holiday’ Has Become 2019’s Stupidest Meme

We're calling it early.

by Jared Richards  16 May 2019
Nicki Minaj Roman Holiday memes photo

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Nicki Minaj’s 2012 album Pink Friday… Roman Reloaded remains an absolutely wild ride — but the album’s oddest moment comes right at the start, with the impossible-to-define opener, ‘Roman Holiday’. It’s a song which, finally, in 2019, is getting the meme treatment it rightly deserves.

In case you need a reminder, ‘Roman Holiday’ is an erratic listen. First, its content: the song’s rapped from the perspective of Minaj’s alter-ego Roman Zolanski, a gay man exiled to Russia who is trying to escape conversion therapy in the song.

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Secondly, its BPM sits at a mean 128, which combined with Nicki’s rapping, is high-octane to begin with — then theres the Hindi drum lines, the lasers shooting throughout, and the ’80s synths.

Oh, and have we mentioned the song’s other character? Where Nicki sings as a shrill British nurse promising Roman pills will offer a ‘holiday’ from himself? And what about the interpolation of the hymn ‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful” in the second verse?

Needless to say, the song might’ve been a bit too much for audiences, though some critics likened it to a hip-hop ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. But overall, it’s safe to say it’s not one of her most-loved songs — until now.

See, imagine ‘Roman Holiday’, but faster. Wouldn’t that be funny? And what if you put that fast version of the song to video? Well, you don’t have to imagine — the internet has provided.

It works for any massive pop culture moment, too, whether that be the latest carnage in Game Of Thrones, Lady Gaga’s outfit reveals at the Met Gala, or YouTube vlogger James Charles’ follower count decreasing.

This meme is divinely simple, yet so effective. See?

Sometimes, the song is made to go even faster.

The meme format, which has been floating around for the past week, has become so big that ‘Roman Holiday’ has re-appeared on the US iTunes charts, currently sitting at #57.

If the ‘cowboy challenge’ can help propel Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ to #1 for six weeks in a row (and counting), how high will this seven-year-old song go?

Time will tell. As of yet, Minaj hasn’t acknowledged the meme, nor has Roman Zolanski.