Nicki Minaj is in fine form as Adele.
The rapper, 39, delivered a perfect impression of the singer, 33, during an appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on Thursday night.
“Okay, for me to channel Adele, I kind of have to think like a black woman in London, right?” Minaj told the audience in a Cockney accent that mirrored the way Adele speaks.
“Because the thing is, normally everyone knows… my British accent is kind of like a posh white lady. A rich white woman, right? Minaj said, referring to her rap alter ego Martha Zolanski. “But with Adele, I kind of have to transform myself.”
Visualizing her version of the ‘Easy on Me’ singer, the hip-hop star explained, “She could have been selling crack. Maybe she used to shove nickels and dimes in the hood , then she had her big break.
Minaj not only nailed her Adele accent, but she also made the same facial expressions and even used animated hand gestures similar to the Grammy winner.
“That’s what I see when I see her. … It’s so expressive, isn’t it? she concludes.
Minaj made her impression after Corden, 43, played a clip of Adele seamlessly performing the rapper’s “Monster” verse during his 2016 “Carpool Karaoke” segment.
“First of all, it’s Adele. Second is “Monster”. You made such an amazing tag team,” Minaj told the late night host. “It made my day, my year. I’ve probably gotten a thousand phone calls about this one thing.
The stars are clearly big fans of each other’s work. In October 2019, Minaj joked about collaborating with Adele on new music. But when her prank was taken seriously, she had to set the record straight.
“Oh guys. I thought everyone could clearly see that I was being sarcastic,” Minaj tweeted at the time with screenshots of several reports that she was working with Adele. “St! Now I have to go to Adele’s studio and steal files. Who’s in the UK? I have a job for you.