Whether she's ticking off reasons to boast, singing about her emotional triumphs and tribulations, or setting a collaborator's track on fire with white-hot bars, Nicki Minaj's lightning-speed flow and verbal trickery snap listeners to attention. This collection of solo numbers and features laid down by Minaj and her alter egos (The Harajuku Barbie and Roman Zolanski on “Monster,” for instance) shows why her rapid ascent didn't just redefine the rap game: Her overwhelming confidence, winking wit, and seemingly endless drive hypercharged the pop world.