Nicki Minaj Gets Back To "Dirty" Raps In Leaked Pre-Fame Freestyle [Video]

While fans are still embracing rap star Nicki Minaj's recent run in the pop world, diehard hip-hop heads can now feast their eyes on the Young Money star's gritty rapping in a newly leaked "Dirty Money" freestyle music video.

In the new clip, Minaj is shown in a more street-geared attire and dropping witty rap lines.

Before Nicki Minaj was the queen of hip-hop, she was a tough, baseball cap-wearing spitfire from Queens, N.Y. Evidence of that recently surfaced online in an unearthed video called 'Dirty Money.' The clip was filmed during her grinding years as an underground rapper. Nicki is spitting hot fire over an instrumental to Terror Squad's song 'Yeah Yeah Yeah.' She raps, "Yes, I'm the one, the motherf--ing one / Hold more weight than the late Big Pun." She then shows her lyrical versatility by flipping a few bars a cappella style. "Hood star broad / black Barbie doll / Pardon me, if the cockiness is bothering, y'all," she raps. From watching the video, you can tell that even back then, she was 'hood but still exhibited confidence in her lyrical flow. However, there are some folk who would contend that Minaj has lost some of her hardcore luster and is now a "hip-pop" rapper. (Pop Crush)

Some bloggers and websites are citing the clip as proof Nicki has fallen off from appealing to her hardcore hip-hop audience.

Alright, you scum, you daily trolls that roam about the Internet highway looking to rag on anyone that disses your precious Nicki Minaj, you fervent devotees that refuse to believe that the mental case MTV product sold out: we've got pure video truth here, and you can't argue a word against the fact that she gave up everything she was for fame. Five years prio! r to her glamorous sell out for fantastical fame and female rapper claims, Nicki actually was rapping, and doing it well as you'll see in the unearthed music video below where she does some acapella work and bars over "Dirty Money." There's no Frankensteinian cosmetic work, no vainglorious garb, and no bullsh*t--it's straight Nicki, looking more like Jean Grae than a plastic cartoon of a failed hair metal frontman, and actually doing something to justify her female emcee claims. Here's the video, the truth that Nicki sold out. Hope you enjoy yourselves. (Ology)

No stranger to leaks, the rapper's new "Marilyn Monroe" record unofficially premiered online recently.

A new and unofficial track leaked to the web this week, in which the rapper appears to be channeling Barbie rather than her other male alter ego, Roman. The song is rumored to be titled "Marilyn Monroe" and features Minaj's sweeter, softer vocals instead of the rapid-fire rhymes we're accustomed to hearing from her. The song is likely unfinished, but this start certainly sounds promising. Minaj has a knack for straddling the line between hardcore rap fans and bubblegum pop lovers, with "Monroe" very clearly catering to the latter demo. (Billboard)

Outside of unauthorized releases, the rap star talked about her controversial religious-themed Grammy Awards performance from earlier this month.

"I don't know what is the big issue?" she asked. The 29-year-old said her five-minute live rendition of her songs "Roman's Revenge" and "Roman Holiday," which included dancing priests, an exorcism and levitation, was just a part of a movie she's writing. "You know how people write plays and movies? That's what I did. I wrote that and I gave the world a tiny little preview of what was to co! me. And so I have to perform it on the set in which it would be in the movie, right?" she said. Minaj, who is known for her outrageous style, walked the Grammy red carpet in an oversized red robe with a man dressed as a pope at her side. She said her performance, which featured a film clip, was partly inspired by the 1973 movie "The Exorcist." (Associated Press)

Check out Nicki Minaj's "Dirty Money" below: