Usher is single again and on the prowl, and the swaggering singer is on the hunt in his next video. According Nicki Minaj, Usher’s “Lil Freak” clip should help put him back in the spotlight with the ladies.

“The video is freaky,” Nicki, who delivers a guest rap on the track, told MTV News. “And it’s a great concept, a great story line.” The Young Money femcee described the premise as being similar to the “Saw” movies. “It felt just like one of the sequels to ‘Saw,’ ” she said. “It was dope.”

In those flicks, the main character, rather than punish his victims by death, gives them a number of challenges — a quick listen to “Lil Freak,” where Usher sings about ladies going out to find other ladies for him, and you’ll see understand the similarities.

The clip will be the second video from the singer’s upcoming Raymond V. Raymond his sixth studio album, due March 30. ,

The video for “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),” directed by Chris Robinson, debuted on MTV.com in January.

The lead single, the sweeping “Papers,” was the first offering from Raymond v. Raymond, a seemingly autobiographical take on his impending divorce from Tameka Foster.

“For you I gave my heart and turned my back against the world/ ‘Cause you were my girl, girl, girl,” he sings on the chorus. “I done damn near lost my mama, I done been through so much drama/ I done turned into the man I never thought I’d be/ I’m ready to sign them papers.”

Usher filed for divorce from Foster last year after nearly two years of marriage and two children. Foster struck back at Usher, however, in an interview with People magazine, calling the track “entertainment.”

“People shouldn’t take it literally,” she told the magazine.

Nicki Minaj Explains The Concept Behind Massive Attack

 

“The song is called ‘Massive Attack,’ ” she explained. “I’m excited for people to hear me … doing more than one verse. It’s really creative. Shout-out to [songwriter] Sean Garrett. I’ve always loved his style. He really kinda had a great idea of what I wanted to do. I wanted to be theatrical, but I am very serous about what I do. He was able to mesh that together and have a really fun but direct record, if that makes sense. … This video, it’s just, like, monsta. The video is a monsta.”

Drake, the Birdman. Garrett and Amber Rose all made the trek for the clip, directed by Hype Williams. Earlier in the afternoon, a helicopter swooped down as Minaj and Rose put pedal to the metal in a pink Lambo.

“I brought my BFF Amber Rose out here,” Nicki said while sitting in her ride. “This is a massive attack. We shot the helicopter scene. Obviously, I had to have a hot-pink Lamborghini. We’re having fun in the car, and we see a freakin’ helicopter chase us. So we get on the walkie-talkie, like, ‘Mayday! Mayday!’ It’s really fashion and beauty shots, and we’re acting like we’re doing something important.

“I kinda always like to do things in an unexpected fashion,” she added. “I didn’t want to shoot the typical new-artist vision. Thank God I have a wonderful label that stands behind me and my vision. I met Hype in a freakin’ airport. I didn’t recognize him without his dreads. We exchanged information, and it happened to be a week before I wanted to shoot a video. I told him the idea. Of course, I had to let Baby and Slim know and hope they would understand my expensive taste. It all came together. Sean Garrett is on the hook.”

Nicki also filmed scenes where she jumps in the mud and crawls through the forest. “It’s just beautiful — the clothes, everything. The ambiance,” she said. “It’s for all the girls that like to play dress-up. They’re gonna love this one.”

Minaj’s next video will be a feature: She and Usher are shooting “Lil’ Freak.” Meanwhile, the Young Money diva will also be working on her debut LP. Like her song, it will also be massive.

“You can expect it to be almost like the soundtrack to a movie,” she explained. “It’s gonna take you somewhere that … it’s kinda gonna tell a story. I didn’t just want to make an album that had a club record, just the obvious. I wanted to paint a very graphic picture. And every record that I’m doing for the album, I can see the stage show, I can see the video. It’s just gonna be big. You can expect it to be big.”