By Christine Garcia
Let’s face it, Nicki Minaj is “not a girl’s girl”. It’s no secret that Minaj tears down uprising female rappers with the use of her natural talent of aminated rap flow to attack or humiliate other women through hate speech.
Nicki Minaj, the Trinidadian rapper and songwriter, is said to be one of the most influential female rappers of the decade. Minhaj’s commercial success comes from her fans, the “Barbz”.
She gained traction in the limelight when she released her debut album “Pink Friday”, in 2010. Afterward, Minhaj released “Roman Holiday”, in 2012, which helped her score a gig as the first solo female rapper to perform at the Grammys. Since then, Minhaj has maintained her stardom releasing tracks from hip-hop to electropop.
Although the public adores her fun persona and “authenticity”, I can’t help but feel frustrated seeing her fans, the “Barbz” put her on a pedestal, as she constantly pits women against each other in her lyrics. In the past, I believed that Minaj was changing the politics of rap, as she was once an advocate against misogyny in the rap industry. Now, Minaj is a woman who upholds the standards of the patriarchy in exchange for praise.
In her song, “Stupid H**”, released in 2012, in more than half of the three minutes and 17 seconds of the song she refers to women in derogatory terms numerous times and she dehumanizes a woman’s role in society.
Minaj’s history of misogyny has not only been shown through her music but evidently through her participation in tearing down other women’s reputations. From alleged feuds with Cardi B to Remy Ma, the list runs long. Most recently, in the media, Minaj made headlines for her feud with Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (Megan Thee Stallion), an accomplished rapper.
Pete released “Hiss ” on Jan. 26, featuring powerful lyrics that were rumored to target Nicki Minaj, Drake and Tory Lanez.
In the song, Pete allegedly refers to Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty, “[They] don’t be mad at Megan,” Pete said. “[They] mad at Megan’s Law.” Megan’s Law sought to notify officials and the community if a person was a registered sex offender after the tragic death of Megan Kanka who was killed by a sex offender. In 2021, Petty failed to register under Megan’s Law after assaulting a 16-year-old girl, Jennifer Hough, in April 1995.
According to Variety, Minaj allegedly tried to intimidate and bribe Hough into a settlement in defense of her husband, claiming that Petty was “falsely accused” even though she knew Hough’s story. Hough sued Minaj for “witness intimidation and harassment”, saying that she had to relocate several instances due to harassment from fans.
“Kenny was 15, she was 16 and, in a relationship, but go awf [off] Internet,” Minaj commented on a post.
In response to Pete’s lyrics, Minaj released “Big Foot” on Jan. 29. Minaj villainizes and invalidates Pete’s experience regarding an assault in 2020, where Lanez and Pete argued, resulting in Lanez firing a weapon at Pete, injuring her in the foot.
“Swearin’ on your dead mother when you lie”, Minaj said. “She like six foot (ooh), I call her Big Foot (brr) / I said, ‘Get up on your good foot.”
“Big Foot” is a malicious depiction of Pete’s injury as well as emasculates her as a black woman because she stands at 5 feet and 10 inches. Minaj supposedly references a Sapphire Caricature, which is the racial and sexist stereotype of the portrayal of the “angry black woman”. An excerpt from the Jim Crow Museum states that the Sapphire Caricature is a “social control mechanism that is employed to punish black women who violate the societal norms”.
In addition, Minaj mentions Pete’s deceased mother to arouse anger within Pete. Bringing Pete’s mother into the discussion is unethical and crosses the line. Pete had a special relationship with her mother.
Why is it okay for Minaj to pit women up against each other and it’s never her fault? Megan Thee Stallion is not the only woman who has spoken against Minaj’s hate speech, with several women such as Mariah Carey, Cardi B and Lil’ Kim directly speaking about her actions as a woman.
She only chooses to support female rappers, when it is convenient for her. This is ironic because she grew up idolizing feminist rappers like Lauryn Hill and Dana Owens (Queen Latifah), who had no problem sharing the stage. I understand that Minaj had to survive in an industry dominated by male rappers, but that doesn’t justify her blatant malice towards women who threaten her position. There’s enough space for women in the hip-hop industry.
Minaj is in a very unique influential position to uplift women and amplify their voices. As a casual music listener, it is disappointing and hurtful to see women in hip-hop use lyrics against each other to minimize their images. Instead, unity could elevate hip-hop and make it more inclusive for girls to dream larger than themselves.
