People place a ton of expectations on Nicki Minaj, from role model, to carry the torch female for all women MCs. All of which grossly exaggerates anything close to reality, and what any artist should have to bear. My honest opinion is that, she has the same responsibility as any entertainer, which is to be aware of the influence she wields, and make decisions that will continue to create opportunities for herself, and ideally others. However, the truth of the matter is that many people have been waiting for a female MC…for so intensely long, that they have a very distorted love/hate response. It’s like some people want to become her and engulf her to the point of extreme adulation and false idolatry, and the others are waiting for the second coming of Lauryn Hill. I want offer people a safe in between spot, that makes sense, and places her plight in its proper perspective.
THE KIM BEEF:
First point…it’s ok and perfectly acceptable for any artist to have influences that we can see and feel in their music. Although, she took pages out of Kim’s notebook, she’s clearly well versed in a variety of genres, case in point “ Right Through Me,” which literally snatches us back to the 80’s, and takes us down the hallway to “All Cried Out” with Lisa Lisa , and I wouldn’t be surprised….if Nicki is a Depeche Mode fan as well. It’s easy to find fault in similarities, but I dare to say…there is one undeniable difference…which is that Kim was Junior Mafia’s Mistress, and Nicki is Young Money’s Princess….you catch the drift…..let’s move on shall we?
SHE’S CHANGED:
Change is an inevitable part of life, and the mixtape Nicki might be what her die hard, first time fans are looking for, but that “around the way girl” doesn’t appeal to the masses, nor does that version 1.0 of Nicki allow access points for a variety of different people to enjoy. Nicki has taken a page out of the Kanye West handbook, and created a “backpacker” style of hip hop, that still feels pop…and can be played on just about any radio station that caters to people between the ages of 18-35….it’s about business people, if it offends you…then don’t be so naïve, drastically lower your expectations, and you’ll feel better about it…trust me.
Lyrical Ability:
Lyrical ability really should be the “I have a dream speech” of hip hop. Judge an artist by the content of their character, which translates to lyrics in hip hop, point blank…plain and simple. In this arena, I’d say the anticipation is high, but the verdict isn’t in yet. The best data point, that we have so far is that Eminem doesn’t get on tracks with just anyone, and he usually eats….just about everyone. On Roman’s Revenge, love it, hate it… her gimmicky voice changes may make your skin crawl, but she undoubtedly kept up…with one of the best lyricist in the game. She clearly has a few more hoops to jump through in this category, but if she did a song with Pharoahe Monch…that might be the ultimate litmus test.
The Middle Ground:
My suggestion is easy to do, just give the girl a fair chance, and don’t feel guilty about it either. Life is filled with binary decisions. She’ll either succeed or fail, win your heart, or not, have a hot album ,or one that flops, but l’d prefer to keep listening, and reserve my egg throwing for atomic bomb related offenses…oh yeah…and if you’re really not satisfied, there’s still Jean Grae…..it’s not over yet, and the doors are about to bust wide open. Nicki’s role…won’t be in vein….believe me on this one!
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