President Obama went on Orlando's Power 953 early this morning to debate, among other things, how hip is daughters are and unregistered voter Nicki Minaj's claim that she's "a republican, voting for Mitt Romney."

"I'm a Republican voting for Mitt Romney/you lazy bitches are fucking up the economy," Nicki Minaj raps on Lil' Wayne's new mixtape Dedication 4. But is she really? While the credulous lamestream media is reporting on Minaj's pronouncement as the truth, we're more skeptical. So we've put the Gawker Fact-Checking Team (me) on the case and fact-checked her Romney endorsement — as well as the rest of her verse on the song:

Rap lyrics do not equal endorsements, but that doesn't mean Nicki Minaj's apparent affection for Mitt Romney won't raise eyebrows.

The just-released video for Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded highlight is literally brilliant, with a neon color scheme and skewed sense of geometry that recalls Beetlejuice. The self-conscious oddness against this cartoon-goth backdrop is reminiscent of Missy Elliott's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)." For the raw eye candy alone, this is probably my favorite video of the year — the insane amount of visual wit (courtesy of director Colin Tilley) is a good match for Nicki's tightly packed bars. "I'm a brand, bitch, I'm a brand," Nicki bellows in this latest round of brag-rap. If that is true, it's a wildly inconsistent brand, but her lows (see: virtually every one of her pop/house songs) make the highs that much more eye-popping.

Hip hop artist Nicki Minaj displays plenty of vocal variation — but at what cost?

When in the Course of human/corporate person events shit gets to the point where John the Supreme Corporate Baptist himself starts fantasizing about socialism, you can usually count on those time-tested right wing psyops tactics to coax him back from the ledge long before George Will is forced to break a sweat. And so one naturally wonders of a violent historical aberration like Obamacare, to whom did the Chief Justice turn for moral guidance during that lonely, tormented month when the Federalist Society thought police set loose the full phone bank of cognitive repo men on the guy? Theory: it was Nicki Minaj. For one thing, the guy has not one but two kids in middle school. Herewith, the slightly more compelling evidence:

Iggy Azalea almost wasn't Internet-famous. Last summer, the native Australian was living in Los Angeles, and after what was supposed to be two weeks in Miami at age 16 had turned into five years spent in four cities throughout the states, she was down to the last of her savings. She had one shot left, and so she used that money to film the music video for "PU$$Y," a song off her first mixtape.

Some melodrama went down at New York hip-hop radio station Hot 97's annual Summer Jam this weekend. Before the show, morning-show host Peter Rosenberg publicly dissed headliner Nicki Minaj for her increasing pop appeal: "I see the real hip-hop heads sprinkled in here. I see them. I know there are some chicks here waiting to sing ‘Starships' later - I'm not talking to y'all right now." "Starships" refers to Nicki's current screaming pop-house hit.

Here are Five Surprising Things we can learn from FoxNews.com's story about how pop artists are turning to satanic imagery to drum up sales:

Compulsive sneerer/rapper Nicki Minaj was profiled on last night's episode of Nightline. It was not very illuminating, but getting to hear Juju Chang say things like, "She sees herself as a rapper: hardcore," "edgy, adult raps," "her rhythms and rhymes are feminine, yet fierce" and "bossed up," was hilarious. A reel of her square-talkin' narration is above.

We wrote about Nicki Minaj last week, but I don't think I properly salivated over this little monster, which had its video debut over the weekend. Minaj's laid-back (though varied) delivery underscores the innate greatness she's claiming and the track is ferocious despite being a deceptively calm design of ricocheting sonar sounds and growling sub-bass. It's all testament to the virtue of not trying to hard, and as such, it's the first Nicki-led song that I've found compulsively listenable. Even if this is the only good thing to come out of Roman's Revenge, the otherwise underwhelming project will have been worth it.

A civil conversation about the new Nicki Minaj album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, between a Nicki skeptic (Rich Juzwiak) and a Nicki stan (Emma Carmichael).

Here's Nicki Minaj, pre-Young Money signing, pre-"Super Bass," pre-pink hair, pre-Super bowl, pre-nonstop mugging, pre-stupid voices, walking through Queens and rapping over a Terror Squad beat. Pretty fun. [via Hypetrak]

What?

Hi there: apparently not everyone (?) in the world has a subscription to the Gawker.com website, and therefore has not read Hamilton Nolan's helpful primer on making parody rap videos. Step one: don't. Don't ever make a rap video. That goes for all of you. Also: step two: no wigs. Thanks. [via Christian Nightmares]

Lady Gaga marks her dressing rooms with urine in surprising places. Jessica Simpson plans to give birth in 4-inch Yves Saint Laurent heels. Rihanna is horny and not getting laid enough. Nicki Minaj wants to use a vibrator in front of children. Friday gossip has needs.

Minor chords, broken hearts, and half-sung complaints about success from a dark corner of the party—yes, unibrow-slash-rapper Drake is back with Take Care.

Nicki Minaj curses out a maid, and the end result is a battery charge. Kim Kardashian says her newlywed life is "not ideal." Alexa Ray Joel opens up about HPV. Usher gets in a fight over a parking space. TGIFriday gossip.

Naked hot tub ladies describe their tryst with Ashton Kutcher. Willow Smith collaborates with Nicki Minaj. Jennifer Aniston says there is "no desperation" in her life. Michelle Pfeiffer thinks plastic surgery is "sad." Thursday gossip kisses and tells.

On this episode of our little internet talk show Gawkerazzi we take on the craziness of Lindsay Lohan in Milan, Nicki Minaj's chicken wing necklace, and Jennifer Lopez wrestling a turkey. Please join us while we jeer at celebrity fashion.