Soul_Rattler
Active Member
Is Nicki Minaj's fan base slave to her cognitive inhibitions? As someone who keeps a keen eye on politics, social issues, and cultural events, especially as they relate to Hip Hop, I am at a complete loss when attempting to recall an instance in which Nicki Minaj has not addressed sexism, racism, or some intersection between the two in a way that did not originate from her own career.
Whenever someone questions whether or not she writes her own music, or whenever her album sales, Billboard accomplishments, or other accolades are either questioned, ignored, or overshadowed, she almost always makes it a point to resort to "It's because I'm a woman." or "Because I'm a black woman." retorts.
Her acknowledgements of racism and sexism are well founded by the scores of women in entertainment history, dating back to Venus Hottentot, who have had to endure unfair, unequal, dehumanizing treatment on behalf of men.
But it seems disingenuous when Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd, Korryn Gaines, and hundreds of thousands of black women are disrespected, brutalized, raped, murdered, and treated unjustly in avenues that have nothing to do with album sales and record spins, yet Nicki Minaj remains silent. The victimization of black women is remarkably underrepresented in media with scarce amounts of people with huge platforms to call attention to it. They don't get to talk about it on a radio station, or in a label office, or on a concert stage. They have to live out their trauma in a jail cell, on a Waffle house floor, or trapped inside their own home or car waiting to be gunned down.
I'm not asking why Nicki won't discuss social issues in her music. I'm not asking that she send out a tweet or Instagram post about injustice. All I'm asking is, why does a black woman from New York, who has taken issue with virtually every noteworthy black female rap artist from the past 2 decades, get to appropriate the struggle of the very people who are the backbone of her career, while offering no effort to help shoulder their burden?
Whenever someone questions whether or not she writes her own music, or whenever her album sales, Billboard accomplishments, or other accolades are either questioned, ignored, or overshadowed, she almost always makes it a point to resort to "It's because I'm a woman." or "Because I'm a black woman." retorts.
Her acknowledgements of racism and sexism are well founded by the scores of women in entertainment history, dating back to Venus Hottentot, who have had to endure unfair, unequal, dehumanizing treatment on behalf of men.
But it seems disingenuous when Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd, Korryn Gaines, and hundreds of thousands of black women are disrespected, brutalized, raped, murdered, and treated unjustly in avenues that have nothing to do with album sales and record spins, yet Nicki Minaj remains silent. The victimization of black women is remarkably underrepresented in media with scarce amounts of people with huge platforms to call attention to it. They don't get to talk about it on a radio station, or in a label office, or on a concert stage. They have to live out their trauma in a jail cell, on a Waffle house floor, or trapped inside their own home or car waiting to be gunned down.
I'm not asking why Nicki won't discuss social issues in her music. I'm not asking that she send out a tweet or Instagram post about injustice. All I'm asking is, why does a black woman from New York, who has taken issue with virtually every noteworthy black female rap artist from the past 2 decades, get to appropriate the struggle of the very people who are the backbone of her career, while offering no effort to help shoulder their burden?
