“Illuminati” is one of the six tracks Madonna just dropped as an early Christmas present to her fans–and fans who want assurance that Madonna’s staying relevant note that Kanye West and Mike Dean produced the single. Yup, hip-hop royalty is all over this half-dozen drop from Madonna’s upcoming Rebel Heart album. “Bitch I’m Madonna” features a reunion of Madge and Minaj, as in Niki Minaj, of course. Madonna’s doing the listening and the work she needs to hit the times. Must be weird though: after all, Madonna used to dictate what time it was in pop music. She wound the clock.
But as they’ve shown before, the Madge-Minaj-menage works–the duo’s first duet “Give Me All Your Luvin” had some power. Minaj raps like a fist (“It’s that go hard or go home zone” goes part of Minaj’s rap) and gives Madonna room to work without having to try too hard. She’s confident enough to hear Minaj claim her famous name–the title “Bitch I’m Madonna” is part of Minaj’s rap–she’s the one making the claim. Madonna has a profane answer. But you can tell she’s glad–after all Nicki Minaj heard somewhere that advice she obviously took to her own rebel heart. That advice that said “express yourself.”
