Nicki Minaj took her break from music and it seems she’s come back with an entirely new steelo and approach to her career. In a recent interview with Elle Magazine, the rapper talked about the guilt she feels in promoting sex and sex appeal and how it might have influenced young girls to do the same. She even took it a step further saying that she sees so many young women in strip clubs and on social media who have become what she calls “modern day prostitutes.”
“Whether you’re a stripper, or whether you’re an Instagram girl — these girls are so beautiful and they have so much to offer,” she said. “But I started finding out that you give them a couple thousand dollars, and you can have sex with them. I was like, ‘Yikes.’ It’s just sad that they don’t know their worth. It makes me sad as a woman. And it makes me sad that maybe I’ve contributed to that in some way … I can’t look down on these girls. I may not be having sex with people, but I’m selling sex appeal. “I just don’t know if girls who look up to me think that when I’m posting a sexy picture. I’m actually the antithesis of all of that. I’m more of, like, the snobby girl, like the ‘Uh, what?’ type of girl. And I want girls to be like that. I’d rather you be called snobby or a bitch or conceited — I’d rather you be called that than easy, and a ho, and a slut.”
If you’re like me, then you read that paragraph utterly confused. Because she said it herself. For over ten years, Nicki Minaj has made an entire career selling sex. Everything, including her moniker, is about sex. (A moniker a man chose for her, I might add.) For years, Nicki pretended to be a lesbian, catering to the male gaze and their fantasies. She surgically altered her body to be more appealing to men. She dresses and poses in a way that could only be interpreted as selling sex. And for all of these years, I’ve been of the mind that if she’s making choices on her own behalf, then there’s no problem with it. When fellow rapper Eve tried to chastise Nicki for her Paper Magazine cover where she simulated licking her own vagina and rubbing her own nipples, I wondered why Eve was so bothered. While the cover wasn’t a deviation from anything she’s done in the past, it was her choice as a grown woman to present her body as she saw fit.
So I’m confused about the sudden switch up. Nicki loves to remind us that she never had sex to advance her career but she’s certainly sold it…almost exclusively. There should be no confusion about the influence she may have had on young women who are trying to emulate that success. The question is why did it take her that long to consider this aspect of it? And if truly feels bad about it, why is she still doing it?
No matter how covered up she appeared in the Elle spread, it’s still a strategy she employs. You need look no further than her latest videos “Chun Li” and “Barbie Tingz.” Her a$$ and t*tt*es are still out. And there’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself. It only becomes a problem when she tries to shame other women for doing the same thing. The hypocrisy. Now that she’s made her millions selling sex, she doesn’t other women, women less fortunate than her, to do the same? Why sis?
Interestingly enough, I have a theory about Nicki’s new conservative stance. Two words: Cardi. B.
Cardi B. has never shied away from any aspect of her personality, including the fact that she used to work as a stripper. And the people love her for it. Nicki, on the other hand, has yet to master the art of showing her real or authentic self–aside from her issues with other women– to her supporters. Like most rappers, she sticks to bravado. And that too is fine. But I get the sense that she would appreciate the love and support so many people readily gave to Cardi. And instead of doing something new with her brand, showing us something or hell even someone different, she’s resorted to taking sly digs at Cardi’s past and women who may be still living that reality today. Ultimately, I don’t know what Nicki sought to gain from that comment. Does she believe more conservative women will latch on to her brand? Is she seeking to establish some type of distinction between the women who listen to Cardi (hoes, sluts, modern-day prostitutes) and the women who listen to her (snobby, conceited bitches)? I can’t call it. But for all of her efforts, it just reads at yet another desperate grasp for a fleeting relevancy.
