According to hip hop mogul and Murder INC’s CEO, Irv Gotti, Nicki Minaj is the new-day Lauryn Hill. “I know that she’s a super talented superstar who can do anything at a high level—rap, sing, act, whatever she wants to do” he said to Vibe Magazine. “This is just the beginning of Nicki Minaj. Her best is yet to come. In my opinion she is as talented as my other girl Lauryn Hill. They have completely different styles. But as far as the talent is concerned they both can do it all. Nicki just isn’t showing it yet ’cause she doesn’t want to. But world be prepared ’cause she’s the truth!”

Minaj, a newly-famed rapper known for her caricature-like delivery and “Harajuku Barbie” musings; has reached major success through a laundry list of features and joint projects with her Young Money labelmates. Success isn’t met without criticism. The Queens-bred femcee has been criticized for promoting “barbie” aesthetics amongst black women, “stealing” Lil’ Kim’s style and rapping what some refer to as “a-b-c rhymes.” Even so, BET’s 2010 Best New Artist continues to break boundaries and maintain a faithful fan-base that accepts and in many cases immulates her highly stylized persona.

While we aren’t for lazy comparisons, do you think Irv Gotti went a bit too far in comparing the newcomer to the 5 time Grammy-Award-Winning Singer/Rapper Lauryn Hill… or do you think Nicki Minaj deserves the room to grow to such a title?

TAGS: Irv Gotti, Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj, The Fugees, Vibe Magazine