Nick Minaj’s ‘Steven Universe’ Cameo Is Pitch Perfect

There’s an art to a great voice acting cameo. Not only does the character need to embody the celebrity who will voice them, but they need to be distinct enough so their famous creds don’t overshadow that character’s arc. Naturally Steven Universe and Nick Minaj have navigated that balancing act flawlessly. In honor of our rap queen’s birthday, a moment of appreciation is owed to Minaj’s stellar run as Steven Universe’s most terrifying fusion, Sugilite.

So far Sugilite has only appeared in Steven Universe twice and only once in a speaking role. But what a great episode her lone cameo is. The entire series revolves around a group of alien creatures with special powers called the Gems. In “Coach Steven” Earth’s heroes the Crystal Gems need to take out a huge communication hub. They quickly realize they can go about it one of two ways: work all day to break it apart piece by piece or enlist the help of someone a bit bigger and more powerful. They choose the latter. Through one of the show’s most fun dance scenes, Garnet (voiced by Estelle) and Amethyst (voiced by Michaela Dietz) combine their strength, turning into their huge, purple, and rampaging fusion. That’s how Sugilite comes to be, and it’s all delightful chaos from then on out.

If you were only to book Nicki Minaj for one episode of your cartoon, it’d would be difficult to create a better role than Sugilite. Not only does she have curves for days but the fusion’s huge muscles and imposing size perfectly mirror the star’s larger-than-life rap reputation. Minaj’s performance is dead on, easily capturing her character’s smug confidence and effortless handle on her imposing strength.

There’s also an underlying sweetness to the role, something that’s essential to this show’s DNA. Even at her most uncontrollable, Sugilite still wants to make Steven (voiced by Zach Callison) happy. She’s not a monster; she just gets carried away sometimes.

However, it’s that fatal flaw that takes this cameo from good to great. Mirroring her own immovable role in today’s pop culture landscape, Sugilite refuses to leave. Is there a better combination than having the rapper who once said, “They paintin’ me out to be the bad guy” be the voice of Steven Universe‘s sole fusion antihero? Ultimately Peal (voiced by Deedee Magno) ends her rein of happy destruction because the story needs to move forward. But the fact that it was a struggle speaks to this character’s intense power.

Nicki Minaj didn’t become a household name by being a sweet star we can prop on a pedestal. No, through her rap and public persona she crafted a fierce warrior of a rap goddess and made us love her because of her fearlessness. Sugilite may be a bit taller than Minaj, but she captures the star’s middle-fingers-to-the-sky mentality wonderfully, and she does it with Minaj’s laugh.

Watch Steven Universe's "Coach Steven" on Hulu