There’s Something About Nicki





As a feminist and music lover, I’m always wishing for more female emcees to make their mark in the world of hip-hop. Nonetheless, you won’t catch me bumping any Nicki Minaj tracks in my Mazda 3. Everyone claims she’s wildly innovative, revolutionary even, but I just don’t see it. Her rhymes are often simplistic or nonsensical and while he style certainly grabs your attention, it seems hijacked from Lil’ Kim.  


But Nicki has the world talking and it doesn’t seem she’s going anywhere anytime soon. So when sites like The Crunk Feminist Collective write about the ubiquitous entertainer I can’t help but pay attention. 


While BET’s documentary “My Mic Sounds Nice: The Truth About Women In Hip Hop” considered Nicki’s impact of hip-hop, a recent post at The Crunk Feminist Collective had me considering the femcee’s impact on today’s feminist movement.


One could argue that Nicki’s Barbie doll image could offer a sense of empowerment to young black women  who grew up struggling to find dolls that looked like them. Or it could further perpetuate the misogynist mindset that women should be, as blogger adurhamtamu writes, “nonspeaking, decorative plastic bodies to be handled and watched.” 


Furthermore, as she dresses as Harajuka Barbie, is Minaj exploiting the stereotype of the submissive Asian woman who is desirable because of her unfaltering obedience?


And then there’s the idea that through her peculiar persona Nicki is able to freely express herself both artistically and sexually in a way that she couldn’t otherwise (just as Beyonce claimed she could do through her alter ego Sasha Fierce). And adurhamtamu notes that “ordinary young women on and off screen are crafting ‘real’ and alternate/virtual identities as a response to the increased policing of their bodies through this hip hop binary.” But is there true freedom in this? If you can only express yourself sexually while assuming this manufactured personage (which is based on what society has convinced you is desirable), can you say you’re truly sexually liberated? As adurhamtamu writes, “In our sincere efforts to ‘free the girls,’ it is possible we might have caged our ‘real’ sexual selves.”


What do you think of Nicki Minaj’s impact on hip-hop and feminism?

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2 Comments

  1. I think the media is reading WAAAAY too much into Nicki’s persona by trying to link it to feminism. She needed a gimmick, decided to become an plastic epileptic puppet (and show some skin and hint at being bi-curious to get the attention of prepubescent boys) and voila, a star is allegedly born. That’s it.

    I don’t believe her persona is allowing her to freely express herself, cuz it’s fake. It’s not the real her. Go to youtube and check out her stuff before she was brainwashed by Lil Wayne. She’s a totally different person. I think THAT’S the real Nicki. If you can’t be real with yourself, you can’t be real with your listeners.

  2. Yeah, you’re right about that bruh. I remember when I first heard of Nicki Minaj on one of the “On The Come Up” DVDs and I looked her up on Youtube and she just seemed like this cute half black, half asian chick from New York that could rap. She even did a cover of Biggie’s Warning… did you know that ED? But she seemed like she put more thought into her lyrics back then, and her nose was bigger and her ass was smaller. But she looked nice though. Now she has a smaller, slimmer nose, and a BIG OL’ FAKE ASS and she raps crazy. Making all those retarded sounds. I have to admit she is entertaining though. She looks good too. But she’s not real…

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