Queens rapper, Nicki Minaj, has evolved over the years right in front of the worlds eyes. From freestyles on DVD series like “The Come Up,” to now selling out stages across the country, there is no denying the growth this woman has achieved. Nicki Minaj has influenced millions of women everywhere influencing both fashion and lifestyle with her Minaj brand. It was just recently I realized a sudden shift in the way she started to present herself to the world.
It started from a Instagram post she posted on Halloween with her dressed in a explicit cop outfit (that could’ve been easily mistaken for a dominatrix outfit) with black tape crossed over her nipple region where the caption read, ” Who wants to get cuffed?” Nicki Minaj later that month, went onto do a variety of interviews in which she explained that,” this is the most comfortable,” she has felt with herself and body in a longtime. Granted as a woman I could have simply took it as her liberating herself, which for a moment I did and was fully behind her racy photos, if it was meant to exemplify her sexy and love for herself.
The moment I started to truly understand the saying, “Less is more,” is recently when Nicki Minaj released the visual for her, newest single “Anaconda.” The video is nothing short of racy and exerts a little to much sexy, very different from the visual she put together for her first single, ” Pills N’ Potions,” which was way more subtle and youth friendly. As artist we strive to bring our lyrics to life but if Nelly’s video, “Tip Drill,” had a sister it would definitely be Anaconda. The video features a half naked Minaj the whole video with nothing but booty shaking and gyrating everywhere for the entire video.
So I then asked myself the question, what would be her need to revamp her image so drastically? I then came to the conclusion that when it comes to Female MC’s, the competition has grown over the years, with rappers like Iggy Azalea, Nyemiah Supreme and even some that were here before, that are now rejoining the Hip Hop community, such as Diamond from Crime Mob or recently released from prison, Bronx artist, Remy Ma. It seems over the years competition has increased within the community forcing Minaj to brand herself in a way she will remain a factor.
Another thing I so happen to notice, was that Nicki Minaj’s last album ” Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Re-Up,” released in 2012, did not do to well in album sales. The Re-Up album actually was her lowest selling album yet, which I think had nothing to do with the Minaj brand but more to do with how the media chose to critique her sound.
A example of the media taking its toll is when , Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg, condemned Nicki for switching to a more Pop like sound and not sticking to her foundations as a Hip Hop rap artist. They spoke badly about her single, “Starships,” and called her a “Sell out,” for the most part. These harsh comments then led everyone into a frenzy which even caused Hot 97’s Ebro to speak out eventually saying “That Rosenberg was to blame for her poor album sales.” As a result, Nicki Minaj then requested that Hot 97 no longer played any of her music.
It is hard to know exactly why the artist chose this new raunchy image but, I must say it is a little to much for my taste. I feel that Nicki Minaj is a talented artist and does not need gimmicks or anything to sell or be appreciated by consumers. This new image does highlight for me that she is maybe cautious of the new females arriving and does want to keep the rank she worked so hard for. Iggy Azalea seems to be one of her most recent competitors being one of the first female MC to beat out the Beatles (for having two singles on billboard consecutively from the number one slot) which may have sparked this need to stand out and be innovative.
My question to Hip Hop fans? Is this what Hip Hop has come to where women would rather compete with who has a bigger bum then compete over who is the better artist? Nicki Minaj brand has changed from this playful imaginative look to this super sexy (almost stripper like persona), is this what we need from her to remember she’s a great artist?
You tell me is this just a new branding technique or is she trying to fight the fade to black screen?
Picture: Fansshare.com