Sir Mix-A-Lot and His Anaconda Approve of Nicki Minaj

Sir Mix-A-Lot’s consent for the use of his iconic 1992 hit “Baby Got Back” provided the foundation for Nicki Minaj’s new wave-making single “Anaconda,” and MTV News spoke with that good sir to get some scoop on how this all came to be. The 90’s icon calls himself a selective donor, and considering Ms. Minaj not only samples the track but incorporates the original MC’s rhymes, it’s a worthy inquiry.

“I don’t really know Nicki Minaj,” he said, “but I can tell you this: Lazy, she is not. That girl works hard. I was blown away by her work ethic. She would hit us up, she’d be in the studio vibing, coming up with different ideas, making sure those ideas were cool. She’d call you back after a couple more hours [with more ideas].” Still, “I never heard until she was done; I heard it with everybody else.”

The Young Money rapper’s work ethic isn’t the only asset of Nicki’s the self-knighted rhymer appreciates, either. It seems, as it were, that the anaconda approves: “Wooooh! When I saw the cover, I almost forgot about the song… I looked at that for about an hour.”

When confronted with the hypothetical of a “Baby Got Back” video remake, Mix happily relinquished all direction to someone who clearly has the qualifications: “She can direct it, be in it, tell me who else to put in it. Whatever she wants. That girl is incredible.”