Nicki Minaj Is Set To Land Her Starship in Chicago
I’m super-excited. Tonight I get to enjoy my Mother’s Day gift from Hubby: Tickets to the Nicki Minaj concert.
Yes, I will probably be among the oldest in the crowd, but I don’t care. It’s Nicki! I’ve loved her rhymes before it was cool to do so.
As a wordsmith, I always enjoy an artist who is a gifted lyricist. When she first came out, I remember asking a few friends what they thought of her and they were very blase. I wondered if I was hearing something that they weren’t or was I just too enamored by her lyrical genius.
Then after awhile Nicki was nominated for a Grammy and scooped up some BET and Billboard Awards. Now those same friends of mine like her, I think they just needed to hear more of her tunes.
And I’m excited to see that girl live.
Last month she got into a tussle over comments that the Hot 97’s radio personality Peter Rosenberg made accusing Nicki of not being real hip-hop. What followed was an eye-rolling worthy fight that resulted in her boss, Lil Wayne, forbidding any of his artists to take the stage at New York’s Summer Jam concert because of the disrespect to Nicki.
But, or in the case of Nicki I suppose I should write Butt, it didn’t end there. Rosenberg’s fellow radio personality Funkmaster Flex took to the airways, talking more trash and essentially said he was going to ruin her career.
I know. I know. More than you care to know about what happens when the inflated egos of the hip-hop world collide, but I’ve got a point. Nicki ended up calling Funkmaster Flex and the two had it out. It was aired in its entirety. (You can listen here.) It was a good discussion in that she held her ground, put Flex in his place and used it as an example of the lack of respect that female artists get in hip-hop.
And that’s what I really liked about the situation. I don’t pretend to understand her industry, nevertheless she felt targeted as a woman and she stood up for herself in a way that demanded respect and she came out on top. I think we women have all been there and when we stand our ground and win, it’s a great moment.
I’m not going to quibble over whether Nicki’s avant garde style is authentic hip-hop, I frankly don’t care. I just love her music. Also, anyone who flips her words inside out like that and comes up with whimsical ways to tell rhyming stories using Hulk Hogan and Hoboken is more than OK with me.
Now, for tonight what the hell am I going to wear?
*Photo by Christopher Macsurak.
I had no idea you were a fan or that she stood up for herself like that. I still don’t get Lady GaGa so I’m way behind the music times – I was pissed about the whole destroying the piano thing. Maybe I will listen next time I hear her. I know you had the best time!!
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You incorrectly paraphrased what Rosenberg said. He said that “Starships” isn’t real hip hop. Few people would argue that it is. By the same token, few people would argue that Nicki is not a real hip hop artist. No one who can rap like that isn’t “real hip hop”. Rosenberg has said over and over again that Nicki is the epitome of real hip hop, and that’s why he found “Starships” to be such a disappointment. His critique was of the song, not of Nicki as an artist (except to the extent that she made such an unapologetic pop record) and certainly not as a woman hip hop artist.