In 2010, Kanye West dropped his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. One of the standout songs on the album was “Monster” which featured verses by Rick Ross, Jay Z, and Nicki Minaj. While Dark Twisted Fantasy has been hailed as one of the best rap albums of the decade, Nicki Minaj’s verse on “Monster” has been hailed as one of the greatest verses of all time, a fact that even Kanye West has acknowledged. He has discussed his consideration of cutting the verse from the song: “…I thought about taking Nicki’s verse off of “Monster” because I knew people would say that was the best verse on the best Hip Hop album of all time or arguably top ten albums of all time. And I would do all that work, eight months of work on “Dark Fantasy” and people to this day would say to me ‘My favorite thing was Nicki Minaj’s verse.’ So if I let my ego get the best of me instead of letting that girl get the shot to get that platform to be all she could be, I would take it off or marginalize her, try to stop her from having that shining moment…”
I was a sophomore in high school when that album came out and I remember having an almost cathartic experience through Minaj’s verse. To this day, I know every line, and can recite it from memory. I’ll hear somebody say “first things first” and instinctively start rapping her verse, no matter what the context, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.
Despite my love for her verse on that song, I could never quite bring myself to enjoy her music; popular hits like “Super Bass” and “Starships” just never sat well with me. I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy them, and I didn’t get her look — the crazy wigs, the neon everything, the wild makeup. It wasn’t really until this summer when “Anaconda” came out, as well as the remix of Beyoncé’s song “Flawless,” on which Nicki Minaj was featured, that I began to appreciate her and understand the message that she was attempting to convey through her music and her persona.
“Anaconda” was heavily criticized when it came out, especially with the release of the music video. Nicki Minaj came under fire when people claimed that the video and song represented an objectification of women, and someone who proudly calls herself a “feminist,” should not be okay with it. However, the video was supposed to represent objectification — by using herself as a sexual subject, Nicki Minaj changes the dialogue regarding women in music videos using their bodies and sexuality as a centerpiece. She takes ownership of her own body, rather than subjecting herself to male gaze. Even when a male enters the picture — Drake’s cameo — she’s still in charge.
While Beyoncé is also hailed as a feminist icon, she embodies almost a different form of feminism. Beyoncé’s more subtle feminism comes from a woman who is married with a child, and addresses issues regarding power. As Autostraddle put it: “Beyoncé is married with a child…[s]he’s been raising money for feminist causes, reclaiming the movement for women’s social, political, and economic freedom, and penning additions to the Shriver Report in her free time. In terms of the image Beyoncé conjures up in the minds of men and women across the nation, it’s pretty clear that it’s one of moderate respectability and responsibility.” Nicki Minaj’s feminism is more bold, to put it lightly.
She’s not perceived as someone concerned with her public image, unless her public image is being tarnished by allegations of not working hard enough. She’s seen as a “boundary-breaker” of sorts, pushing her way to the top of the historically male-dominated hip-hop genre. Nicki Minaj is an example of intersectionality – she tells her story as an immigrant, a woman, a black woman, a “survivor.”
When Nicki Minaj was featured on a remix of “Flawless” – a feminist anthem for a new age – she began a new conversation. As she herself says in the song, it was the Queen of Rap slaying with Queen B. The song became harder, rougher, grittier, rooted in the power of female sexuality and became a testament to the fact that when two strong, successful women join forces, they can’t miss.
Nicki Minaj steps outside the boundaries of a stereotypical feminist icon. She doesn’t just want to the best female, she wants to the best, period. And if she’s fake, she ain’t notice cause her money ain’t.
Below is a collection of some of my favorite Minaj Moments:
Rapping the Monster verse with an entire audience
Talking about the difference between men and women being “bossed up”
Performing “Flawless (Remix)” in Paris with Beyoncé
And of course, her “Anaconda” performance from the 2014 VMAs