NICKI MINAJ
Changing the Narrative of the Sexual Empowerment of Female Hip Hop Artist
Part 1 by Dr. Tamara Hill
(February 2023)
The Hip-Hop landscape in its beginnings presented the "lyrical theses" of the unknown poets and poetesses that gave the world the "truth" about the urban ghettoes, their stories and the societal ills that were their realities. Mass media and the general population could not help but to notice those who rose to the top of the Hip-Hop charts. Artists like Big Daddy Kane, A Tribe Called Quest, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent, Jay Z, NAS, NWA, Heavy D, Fat Joe, Big Pun, Snoop Dog, Poor Righteous Teachers and Eric B. & Rakim were some of the primary headliners in the Rap game. Whereas for the women of Rap, the names Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Peppa, Roxanne Shante, Da Brat, Rah Digga, Foxy Brown, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Lil Kim, Bahamadia, MC Trouble, Remy Ma, Missy Elliot, Gangsta Boo and Monie Love "spit" out their individual feminine contemplations and perspectives of their urban existence whenever you turned on a radio. Their influences as far as style, personality, images and lyrics changed the genre of rap and how it has developed, especially for women of color.
Additionally, the Hip-Hop industry has been pretty much male dominated, from the music engineers, managers to producers and CEOs of the major record labels. However, there have also been women who have made strides in it such as Sylvia Rhone, who is both the chair and CEO of Epic Records, which is owned by Sony. She is highly respected and regarded as the most prominent woman of color in the music industry. And of course, there's Sylvia Robinson of Sugarhill Records, a label that's one of the originators of the style.
Nevertheless, for decades, the male rappers in the Hip-Hop industry and their lyrics have illustrated and dissected their sexual conquests and the type of women they prefer with regard to skin color, body type and/or nationality. To illustrate this notion, there is an excerpt taken from KidKollegeStaff.com, with a lyric from the song "Redbone Girl" (2012) where Lil Wayne collaborated with Eric Benet that Black women are viewed by Wayne with disdain.
"Red Bone Girl" caused a stir in social media according to Color Lines, which alleged that Benet was promoting a "white supremacist beauty standard" with his track. Lil Wayne himself is no stranger to controversy over this particular topic on colorism- many Black women were outraged over a particular line by the artist on the track "Right Above It" ()2010. On the song, Wayne said, "Beautiful Black woman, bet that bitch look better red." Lil Wayne is saying through this line that a dark-skinned woman would look prettier if she was more light complexioned. And on "Red Bone Girl," Wayne raps "I like them light-skin, lighter than a feather."
Lil' Wayne's lyrics from "Red Bone Girl" are just one example of a male rapper's preference for the type of skin tone that he prefers because he wants his women to either be precisely "red" or light complexioned," but he is not the only rapper that exemplifies and continues to perpetuate these beliefs in Hip-Hop. As a result, women are being fed subliminal messages through male rapper's music about the women they prefer in terms of body type, skin tone, sexuality and their most attractive attributes. And in turn, the Hip Hop industry has provided these types of women via music videos as fantasies, that convey "if you make out of your hopeless situation, you too can have a bevy of beautiful women who are perfect in every way." But now, Nicki Minaj has become a prominent female rapper who is sexually brazen and her video depictions of her music is unabashed while taking control of her body by telling men, "I no longer have to fit your standards to accept me, I am sexually empowered and I will make my own choices for myself about the men I want. You will want me whether I want you in return or not."
Furthermore, male rappers' lyrics in comparison to female rappers have often been characterized as being "their truth about their experiences" whether they were "trapping in the hood," "coming up hard," their sexual exploits or their previous gang life. There is no negative connation associated with male rappers and their life before fame because it is glamorized as them making it out of their unfortunate circumstances and they did what they had to do in order to survive. What's more, their lyrics are also a celebration of the male bravado and their multiple sexual conquests because they rap about the number of women they can acquire or the look in a woman's eyes when they are giving them sexual pleasure in unimaginable ways. For example, in 50 Cent's "Lil Bit" (2005) he says:
All a nigga really need is a lil' bitBut in contrast, when female rappers express their sexual exploits with some of these same singular details such as the attributes they want in their men or how they desire to be pleased, it seems to be problematic despite them being headliners at the top of the Hip-Hop game because societal standards declare that "good and respectable women" do not do nor talk about such things. This is because Black women and those of color have been taught to suppress their sexuality and if they participated in sexual escapades or sampled their choice of prospective suitors like the 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins, they are then labeled and/or called "heauxs." Consequently, this double standard for female rappers in Hip-Hop should not be the be the case and is extremely hypocritical. If it is conventional for male rappers to express their lifestyles and sexual conquests, then the same should be appropriate for female rappers in the Hip-Hop industry. It is apparent these female rappers do not fit Hip Hop's narrative of staying in the background or having demure lyrics but instead they are demanding that their single independent voices and sexual desires be acknowledged by society and anyone who listens to their music.
Not a lot baby girl, just a lil' bit
We can head to the crib in a lil' bit
I can show you how I live in a lil' bit
I wanna unbutton your pants just a lil' bit
Take 'em off and pull 'em down just a lil' bit
Get to kissin' and touchin' a lil' bit
Get to lickin' it, a lil' bit
Contemporary female rappers such as Doja Cat, Latto, Saweetie, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj are immensely popular because of their individual styles, profound and explicit lyrics that speak truth to many women's experiences. But the double-standard and hypocrisy that are applied to them is still very apparent in the Hip-Hop industry and society. Notwithstanding, it is also the way these same female rappers are dressed when they are "spitting" their lyrics because it is shocking to some people to see Black women and of color in black or red skin-tight latex with pasties on their breasts, making sexual gestures with their bodies or wearing S&M attire with whips and chains walking men on all fours while affirming how they like various sexual positions or having the ability to call men from their "stables" when they want to be satisfied.
Take Latto for example. according to her website, biglatto.com, "Raised in Atlanta, GA, 22-year-old rising rapper Latto has been making a name for herself since she was 10 years old. The Rap Game Season One winner has continually released music since 2016 and signed with RCA Records in 2020." Just recently, she released "Big Energy" from her 777 album (2022), using the sample from Mariah Carey's classic, "Fantasy" (1995) and even had Ms. Carey on the remix version.
Latto
Latto freely raps her verses by acknowledging:
Bad bitch, I could be your fantasy
I can tell you got big dick energy
It ain't too many niggas that can handle me
But I might let you try it off the Hennessy
Make 'em sing to this pussy like a melody
And if your bitch ain't right, I got the remedy
It ain't too many niggas that can handle me
Bad bitch, I could be your fantasy
In the "Big Energy" video, she goes from a wearing a sexy long yellow dress standing by a lottery machine on an old television set to being a cupid of love with full white angel wings that shoots her chosen male in the "ass" with a bow. Then in the final scenes, she is in a hot red latex suit with expansive black dots that is symbolic for the ladybug which is an omen for "good luck," "saying tell me how you want it?" The entire concept is that she has fully sized up her male selection for the evening based on his anatomy and is willing to take him to the next level of his "fantasy." As a woman, she has asserted herself in choosing a man and it is no different when male rappers declare the same ideals in their lyrics.
Lil Kim
Some critics would argue that the harnessing and the commercialization of their individual sexuality is not progressive but putting Black women and those of color back in the Dark Ages while others will fondly recall from the early days of Hip-Hop, Lil Kim saying how she "could make a Sprite can disappear in her mouth" from her song titled, "Jump Off" on her third album called La Bella Mafia (2003). This specific lyric left many men thinking "how did she do that and can my girl do the same thing?" The question is why should female rappers suppress their sexual desires or conquests in their lyrics and ignore them as if they do not exist? In response to this question, author of "Women are thriving in rap culture and double standards won't stop," Kadie Gurly asserts:
"I do not know why female artists get hate for their lyrics either. I understand that everyone has an opinion and different taste, but do not base it on the fact the artist is a woman. There are many double standards with lyrics and newer artistry. Some of the male rap songs you hear now are about sex, drugs, and money.
Some female rappers talk about sexual pleasures in their music, but often get ridiculed for being too explicit or nasty. And these comments are coming from grown men."
The truth is that they should not, especially when this genre was conceptualized based on the idea of the urban experience of both males and females who recognized that they existed but who were completely invisible to the masses. Likewise, their harsh but igneous realities do have and continue to have validity about the Black community. As a result, Hip-Hop was the only artistic mechanism to take these female and male rappers from the streets to Black people and others that found their lyrics or stories to be relevant to their own every day experiences.
Even though the aforementioned Black men and Black women were the pioneers of this genre, Nicki Minaj has unpacked the gender discourse in a way that has shown that biases still exist in Hip-Hop while displaying her sexual empowerment in terms of her femininity, lyrics and image. Not to mention as a woman of color, her need for self-identity and the control of her narrative is key to the sexual politics in the music industry. This article is not about discounting any female rappers in the industry from Rapsody to Erica Banks but to show how systemic inequalities, misperceptions and stereotypes that exist and how as a collective, they are refuting them. There was an old adage when women used to say, "I am woman, hear me roar" but now the statement has been converted to, "I'm boss, making boss moves," which is exactly what Nicki Minaj is doing in the music industry. As such, this is an analysis of Nicki Minaj as a woman of color in the Hip-Hop industry who has made her presence more expansive than her previous predecessors as a rapper and an actress, all while holding a plethora of top Billboard hits because of her musical versatility. While some people may find that megastar Nicki Minaj and her distinct provocative style, raunchy alter egos and explicit animated lyrics make them want to grab their "pearls," there are also those who celebrate her womanhood, embrace her for being her sexual authentic self and there are men who find her sexual aggressiveness attractive.
Since the emergence of female rappers such as Salt-n-Pepa saying, "push it real good" from their 1987 hit, "Push It" or Shawnna vehemently declaring, "I was gettin' some head, Gettin', gettin' some head I was with the kinda girl that make ya toes pop," using the sample from the infamous Too Short's "Blowjob Betty" (1993) that discusses oral sex as the women in the video are getting their heads styled and washed, shows that women of color in Hip Hop and their sexual empowerment conquests have always been present even they were discreet or implied. But the question remains, why is it that Too $hort can write this specific rap, describing how a woman is enthusiastic about giving him oral pleasure with explicit details of how he is reaches sexual satisfaction with a raw title that is obvious to the masses but not once is he labeled as being a "ho" or is alleged to reconfirm the notion that Black men are sexually aggressive or have no morals? Essentially, he is praised for having a woman who is a "stone cold freak" while exposing everything that she does to him orally in the bedroom because in "Blowjob Betty," Too $hort explicitly raps:
She's the kind of girl you think about in bedThe answer is that these are inequities or biases that female rappers have had to endure when wanting to sexually express themselves is hypocritical and coming from society. These female rappers are adamantly showing the world that women and especially those of color in the Hip Hop industry who have been repressed for so long, are now saying, "I will do who I want and how" and damn what anyone thinks of me!" Even though both Salt-n-Pepa nor Shawnna were as explicit as Too $hort was in their video depictions of their individual hits, it is not difficult to visualize exactly what they were saying in one's own mind. In fact, both Salt-n-Pepa and Shawwna were fully clothed as well as the other women who were present in their videos but they made sexual gestures with their facial expressions in the camera and were dressed in a manner that showed their most prominent assets. It also proves how historically there has been and is a direct correlation between female rappers, their sexual images and the lyrics they spit.
Blowjob Betty givin' real good head
Bust a left nut, right nut in her jaw
Sperm on her cheeks is all ya saw
She could blow more head than a whale blows water
Blowjob Betty make your dick get harder
When we fast forward from the '90's to 2023, with Nicki Minaj, not only are we hearing her womanhood as a woman in color in her lyrics but we are also able to see how she is controlling her sexual empowerment. She does this despite the unforgiving criticism she has received which is truly unessential to her because Minaj has figured out her sexual prowess and is no longer repressed by societal standards which means no one is controlling what she says, how she dresses, or what she thinks or does.
Despite Hip Hop serving as both a caricature and being a modicum of urban culture, women of color who are present in other forms of mass media have also been harshly criticized for exploring their sexuality and have been labeled as being hypersexual. Moreover, they are stereotyped and branded as "jezebels, angry sapphires or sluts" for performing the same sexual acts or behaving the same way that their white counterparts have done for years, in other forms of the media and especially on television. For example, Erica Kane on the legendary All My Children soap opera had the most weddings ever recorded on television. It is also noted in television history that she had 11 marriages and 8 husbands, some of which were adulterous relationships that did not even last but yet she praised for being a sexy seductress who happened to be a White woman that could have any man that she chose. Her character never received any criticism for sleeping with multiple men and then marrying them, divorcing and repeating the behavior all over again. No one "slut" shamed Erica Kane nor passed judgement with how she slept with someone's husband, it was just acceptable because her character was a White wealthy woman.
Whereas, when Kerry Washington who played the infamous Olivia Pope on Scandal whose primary job was to "fix" all the nefarious problems through her crisis management firm from the White House to convert intelligence and consistently slept with her forbidden lover President Fitzgerald Grant, she instantly became the new Sally Hemings, which was reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson's sexual conquest of his enslaved concubine. Sally Hemings did not have a choice in being the concubine of Thomas Jefferson because she was his property, therefore she did not have the agency to control the narrative that Olivia Pope did with Fitzgerald. Brandon Maxwell, author of "Olivia Pope and the Scandal of Representation" highlights the specific scene when the Hemings and Thomas Jefferson conversation takes place between Olivia and Fitz on Scandal:
"One must acknowledge that Rhimes has seemingly attempted to address these race and gender concerns in Season 2. The clearest 'race' conversation occurs in Season 2 Episode 8, when Olivia tells Fitz she's starting to feel a little "Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings" about their relationship. Initially this seems like a point where the plot may turn and Pope may move on from the constant violation. Shortly thereafter, however, Fitz and Olivia meet in a garden where he accuses her of playing the race card because she knows he has a role to play as the leader of the free world. In a fit of rage, he yells at her saying, "There's no Sally or Thomas here! You're nobody's victim, Liv. I belong to you; we're in this together!" And before Olivia can rebut he storms off. Fitz gets the final say in how their relationship is to be defined. But no matter what Fitz may claim or how romantic the storyline seems, the script is all too familiar, and we already know how the story ends. And the moral of the story, you ask? Black female flesh = object to be desired sexually; white female flesh = desirable/acceptable in every other way."
Olivia Pope was unfairly characterized as being hypersexual because she had other lovers on the show besides President Fitz who was not only married but it also meant that she was not at his beck and call either. When she did not want to see Fitz, she "ghosted" him by cell phone or in person and remained wherever she was despite his desire for her. As a result, her character was called a "jezebel, mammy and the angry sapphire," by numerous critics. She was called "a jezebel" because she slept with Fitz and had other lovers, "mammy" for always fixing problems in the White House for him and "the angry sapphire" when she became hostile and exhibited stereotypical behavior that is typically attributed to Black women.
As the show progressed, the audience started to see how their relationship evolved and how it finally ended with Olivia and Fitz, which was left up to one's own interpretation. Nonetheless, Olivia in her symbolic white hat and suit continually saved the White House and him from self-destructing from the inside out. For that reason, these prejudicial characterizations and the criticism that women of color receive about being sexually free are parallel to those in the Hip Hop industry.
Female rappers in Hip Hop are not a new phenomenon but how they emerge and captivate their audiences will determine the popularity of their music and followers. Starting in the New York suburb, South Jamaica, Queens, Onika Tanya Maraj, and now "Mrs. Petty" is known to her fans as Nicki Minaj and is playfully called "Barbie" because of her voluptuous figure that is symmetrically aligned with the iconic doll and pink hair. Notwithstanding, Minaj's style of rapping has been characterized as having an animated flow and accents all while implementing her multiple alter egos such as Roman Zolanski and the Harajuku Barbie.
"Minaj's most well-known and utilized alter ego, (Roman Zolanski) is described as an English homosexual male characterized by being far more outspoken and wild than Nicki herself," according to Nicki Minaj Fandom.com. She is Trinidadian and grew up with 11 cousins and her grandmother in St. James district of the Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago before being brought the United States by her mother. As a young woman, from 1982 to 2003, she tried her hand at acting and even worked at Red Lobster and several other customer service jobs but she was not good at any of them.
Minaj's rap career began in 2004 with mixtapes and where she was initially signed with Full Force and put her work on MySpace for the world to see while shopping it with various music labels. Later she signed with Fendi who was the CEO of the Brooklyn Dirty Money Entertainment and had a contract that was only 180 days long. It was there that she changed her name from Maraj to Minaj at Fendi's suggestion because of her prolific flow. By July 5th 2007, her first mixtape premiered called Playtime is Over while her second, Sucka Free, was released on April 12, 2008. As her career began to take off, she released "I Get Crazy" (2009) and in 2010, she made it to Billboard for her features on "Knockout" and "Up Out Face." It was during this time that Minaj was discovered by Lil Wayne and eventually signed with Young Money Entertainment. Respectively, Minaj was featured on the singled "Bedrock" (2009) and "Roger That" (2009) for the compilation album titled We Are Young Money (2009). That was also the first year that the world had the opportunity to see Minaj in musical video. It was then, that Minaj started to become sketched in fans' minds in urban culture as this independent Black Barbie caricature who was brazen and had sick lyrics. She is the one who oftentimes graciously leaves the stage with her trademark animated white smile.
Between 2010-2011, Minaj had a string of hits beginning with her Pink Friday album with such songs as "Your Love" (2010) "Check It Out" (2010) that featured will.i.am and then "Monster" by Kanye West, with Jay Z and Rick Ross. Later on, she collaborated with Drake for the song, "Moment 4 Life" and she gave a sick verse on Ludacris' song "My Chick Bad" (2010). However, it is her song "Anaconda" from her Pinkprint (2014) album, which was released by Young Money Entertainment, where one can truly see her controlling the agency of her body and freely expressing her sexual escapades with various men. While it is not Minaj's only song that expresses her sexuality, it is one of her most memorable. It was on the Hot 100 list at number two and she was the first solo female rapper that had one billion views on YouTube.
Those who are true Hip-Hop heads will recognize that the sample Minaj uses is from Sir Mix-A-lot's "Baby Got Back" (1992) from his third album titled Mack Daddy. According to TMZ, "Baby Got Back" was such a huge success that held the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for multiple weeks and earned Sir Mix-A-Lot a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. The Sir went on to make a total of six studio albums in his music career but never reached the same success as his 1992 release." While the background beat is commanding, it is Sir Mix-A-Lot's original lyrics and Minaj's take on them, that articulates her stance on the "boys" and their individual sexual characteristics that have brought her pleasure. Sir Mix-A-Lot originally rapped, "My anaconda don't, my anaconda don't. My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hun." By definition, an anaconda is a huge muscular snake, but, Callum McKelvie and Jessie Szalay authors of "Anaconda: Habits, hunting and diet" affirm that, "Anacondas are semi aquatic snakes found in tropical South America, notable in the Amazon and different to pythons They are some of the largest snakes in the world and are known for their swimming ability. 'Anaconda' is the common name for the genus Eunectes, a genus of boa. Eunectes means "good swimmer" in Greek, according to Sea World." Thus, Sir Mix-A-Lot is referencing the fact that he does not want a woman nor will his penis, better known as his "snake," to react to her unless her derriere is aesthetically pleasing (fat) and robust. For all intents and purposes, Sir Mix-A-Lot's "snake" determines whether or not he is attracted to a woman or not.
During the 1990s, a woman having huge buttocks was not popular as it is today, especially in music videos. However, women of color and especially Black women have had traditionally had large derrieres beginning with Hottentot Venus, whose real name was Sara (Saartjie) Baartman, was paraded throughout Europe and London in the early 1800's for her oversized buttocks. Writer, Caroline Elkins, in her article titled, "A Life Exposed" from the New York Times explains, "The Hottentot Venus, with buttocks of enormous size and with genitalia fabled to be equally disproportionate, was part of this human menagerie. When she arrived in London in 1810, this young woman from South Africa became an overnight sensation in London's theater of human oddities."
"Sartjee, the Hottentot Venus, Now Exhibiting in London, Drawn From Life," read the caption on this engraving, circa 1810.
Credit: City of Westminster Archive Center, London/Bridgeman Art Library
Whereas Minaj utilizes Sir Mix-A-Lot infamous line as her background "hook" as she spits through "Anaconda," describing her first sexual conquest which is Troy:
Boy toy named Troy used to live in DetroitMinaj is enlightening her listeners about Troy's chosen profession, how he lives in the lap of luxury and why he sexually excites her. Fundamentally, he is a drug dealer who has had multiple run-ins with the law that have ended in shoot-outs but who still manages to live in a palace. Conversely, before she engages in sex with him, she has taken half a pill, which one can only assume is perhaps a "molly" which enhances her sexual escapade with him even more. She continues her flow about Troy by underscoring:
Bi-big dope dealer money, he was getting some coins
Was in shootouts with the law, but he live in a palace
Bo-bought me Alexander McQueen, he was keeping me stylish
Now that's real, real, real, Gun in my purse, bitch, I came dressed to kill
Who wanna go first?
I had them pushing daffodils,
I'm high as hell
I only took half a pill
I'm on some dumb shit
By the way, what he say?Troy is giving her cunnilingus in her car with his platinum or gold grills while aggressively grabbing her ass. He is turned on by her so much and or by her sex appeal, that pleasing her in an automobile is not beneath him. As Minaj calls attention to her sexual exploit, she makes reference to the fact that Troy is not only enamored by her personality but her ass as well because he can tell that she eating well based on her shapely anatomy.
He can tell I ain't missing no meals.
Come through and fuck him in my automobile.
Let him eat it with his grills, and he telling me to chill.
And he telling me it's real, that he love my sex appeal.
He say he don't like 'em boney, he want something he can grab.
Whereas with Michael, her second sexual conquest in the song, the theme of the "anaconda" reigns supreme because she emphatically accentuates that his penis is quite large and much bigger than the Eiffel Tower.
Thi-this dude named Michael used to ride motorcylesThen she uses the moniker "rifle" to rename his penis while they are engaging in sex. However, she put him to sleep because his oversized "rifle" was sedated with her pussy after they have finished. He then calls her "NyQuil" because he becomes drowsy after having sex with her and usually when people take this specific cough medicine for a cold they extremely sleepy or drowsy. NyQuil is one of the strongest cough medicines on the market, Although Minaj does not have this drug running through her body, it stands to reason that her lady parts "put it on him" and as a result, he was too sleepy to do anything else after having sex. Despite the fact that both men are drug dealers and are "paid in full," Michael likes to "toss" her salad, which in laymen terms means that he enjoys eating her buttocks, which again gives her multiple orgasms or overwhelming pleasure. From Minaj's perspective, both men found her attractive and thoroughly enjoyed her sexual aggressiveness. Not only does Minaj give us a play by play of her sexual exploits in the song, we also take note that she is not ashamed or repressed by them either.
Di-dick bigger than a tower, I ain't talking about Eiffel's
Real country-ass nigga, let me play with his rifle
Pussy put his ass to sleep, now he calling me NyQuil
Now that bang, bang, bang
I let him it 'cause he slang cocaine
He toss my salad like his name Romaine
And when we done, I make him buy me Balmain
I'm on some dumb shit.
More importantly, her lyrics are no different than those of the classic, "It Was a Good Day" by Ice Cube from his 1992 Predator album where he raps:
Left my nigga's house paidThis shows the parallel between Ice Cube's lyrics then and Nicki Minaj's now. In 1992, Cube did not hesitate to rap about his sexual prowess in seeing a girl from around the way that "beeped" him earlier in the day while specifying what was taking place in his "hood," like him playing craps, his mom fixing breakfast with no "hog" and him wondering if he "would live another 24?" In his words, he was enamored with the girl since the 12th grade because he was going to finally get to have sex with her because now she was the woman that he desired. She also had the chronic and he had the beer, both of which would play a part in them having sex when he arrived at her house. Similarly, Minaj says in "Anaconda" that she took "half a pill" while with Troy which ultimately resulted in her being on some "dumb shit." While this comparison of lyrics is by no means to bash Ice Cube or any of his accomplishments from N.W.A. to the Friday movie franchise, it is a gateway to the hypocrisy towards women in Hip Hop and the dichotomy that exists when they describe their sexual rendezvous that closely resemble or exactly like their male counterparts. While Minaj, did not want either man in "Anaconda" (2014) since the 12th grade, one can ascertain that her conquests were from the hood like Ice Cube but that she was in control of how and when she would dole out her "goodies."
Picked up a girl been tryna fuck since the 12th grade
It's ironic, I had the brew, she had the chronic
The Lakers beat the Supersonics
I felt on her big fat fanny
Pulled out the jammy and killed the punani
And my dick runs deep, so deep, so deep
Put her ass to sleep
Woke her up around one
She didn't hesitate to call Ice Cube the top gun.
Finally, the public narrative surrounding Minaj's physical attributes which are very similar to the iconic Barbie doll have caused some men to be captivated by her voluptuous body, while she bewitches them with her sexual aggressiveness and magnetic personality. She only stands 5"2' and her measurements are "40-28-45," according to starsunfolded.com. In comparison, Anna Hart who visited the Mattel Headquarters, notates in her article titled, "Introducing the new, realistic Barbie: 'The thigh gap has officially gone,'" "a Barbie doll is 11.5in tall, equating to 5ft 9in at 1/6 'playscale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated by Yale academics at 36in (bust), 18in (waist) and 33 in (hips)." Minaj knows that she is attractive and has rapped about her sexual allure and being in control of her sexual conquests in many of her hits such as "Feeling Myself" (2014), "Good Form" (2018) which is filled with double entendres and "Super Freaky Girl" (2022) which utilized Rick James's classic hit, "Super Freak" from his 1981 Street Songs album. She is able to manipulate the men in these songs with her animated voice where at times, her alter ego takes asserts it by "keeping it a buck" which further clarifies that these encounters are not about her being romantically in love or affectionate towards a man but the ideal that she is dominating their perception of being the object of her desire. In sum, she is the object of their affection and sexual desires but it is not the other way around. For example, on "Good Form," Minaj in a matter fact tone stresses:
I tell him eat the cookie 'cause it's good for himThus, a man who admires and is attracted to Minaj's sexual aggressiveness will joyfully do exactly as he is instructed which is to give her oral pleasure in perfect formation.
And when he eat the cookie he got good form
He know I don't ever cheat because I'm good to him
Might gotta have his baby, nurses yellin', push, for him
Such that Nicki Minaj is a megastar female rapper, she is also more culturally resonant and archetypal of the social progress of women of color or Black women in the Hip Hop industry. It is also why a less hypocritical and a more comprehensive narrative demands that the contributions of female rappers like Minaj and others like Latto or Megan Thee Stallion be embedded within the Hip Hop discourse concerning their sexual empowerment and the removal of society standards by them in a genuine and allusive way. Therefore, Nicki Minaj continues to challenge us to embrace her sexual empowerment and aggressiveness, provocative dress and powerful lyrics to an open discourse just like we would for her male counterparts in Hip Hop. By doing so, it will strengthen and support her representation and presence in the music industry, which will fundamentally change the narrative for her as she continues to makes strides as a Black woman and female Hip Hop artist.
Work Cited
Elkins, Caroline. "A Life Exposed," (New York Times, January 14, 2007). Accessed January 14, 2023.
Eric Benet "Redbone Girl ft. Lil Wayne," YouTube, uploaded by LilTunechiOfficial, May 3, 2012.
50 Cent "Just A Lil Bit," YouTube, uploaded June 16, 2009.
Ice Cube "It Was A Good Day," YouTube, uploaded February 24, 2009. Accessed 17 January 2023.
Gurley, Kadie. "Women are thriving in rap culture and double standards won't stop." (Daily 49er, March 22, 2022). Accessed 20 December 2022.
Hart, Anna. "Introducing the new, realistic Barbie: 'The thigh gap has officially gone'," (The Telegraph, January 28, 2016). Accessed 17 January 2023.
KollegeKidStaff "Eric Benet and Lil' Wayne Spark Controversy with Song 'Red Bone Girl'" Posted August 8 2012. Accessed 9 December 2022.
Latto https://www.biglatto.com/ Accessed 10 December 2022.
Latto "Big Energy" YouTube, uploaded by https://latto.lnk.to/777 Premiered Sep 24, 2022.
"Lil Kim can make a SPRITE CAN disappear in her mouth" YouTube, uploaded by TheLittleKimShowLite1, July 26, 2016.
Lil Kim "The Jump Off (feat. Mr. Cheeks)," You Tube, uploaded by Atlantic Records, October 26, 2009.
Guest Contributor, "Maxwell, Brandon. Olivia Pope and the Scandal of Representation" (The Feminist Wire, February 7, 2013). Accessed 20 December 2022.
McKelvie, Callum and Szalay, Jessie. "Anaconda: Habits, hunting and diet," (Live Science, March 03, 2022). Accessed 10 January 2023.
SIR MIX-A-LOT'MEMBA HIM?! (TMZ, July 2, 2021). Accessed 9 January 2023.
Minaj, Nicki Fandom, Accessed 20 December 2022.
Minaj, Nicki. https://starsunfolded.com/nicki-minaj/ Accessed 17 January 2023.
"Sartjee, the Hottentot Venus, Now Exhibiting in London, Drawn From Life," read the caption on this engraving, circa 1810.Credit...City of Westminster Archive Center, London/Bridgeman Art Library. Accessed 17 January 2023.
Too $hort "Blowjob Betty", uploaded 1993. Accessed 20 December 2022.