(ThyBlackMan.com) Nicki Minaj, aka Onika Tanya Maraj, disappoints me. As a fan of quality hip-hop, I immediately concluded that Nicki Minaj is every bit as talented as her male counterparts. Her flow is smooth, creative and powerful, and she could easily make hit records and perform battle rap at the highest levels. Most rappers can’t do that.
But, for some reason, someone told Nicki Minaj that she wasn’t good enough the way she was. They told her to pile on enough makeup to turn her face into a construction site. They convinced her to toss some fake hair on her head and add some extra-long fingernails. They then had her get enough surgery to make up four episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.
Now, with all the fake body parts that we see on-stage, the real Nicki Minaj has disappeared and been replaced with a plastic, female Frankenstein with enough implants to smother an elephant. You can see the implants clearly because there are typically no clothes to cover them up. In other words, she’s a half-naked mess, desperately trying to turn one trick after another in order to keep the attention of her easily-distracted fans.
Not only did Nicki Minaj’s appearance worsen over time, but so did her lyrical content. She says she believes in the empowerment of women, but it’s hard to find anything empowering about the idea that your self-worth comes down to the size of your butt. Instead of being even a shadow of the woman Nicki Minaj could have been, she has become a toxic teacher of young girls, the role model from hell. In Nicki’s world, a young girl should never waste time with a man who might be a good husband and father. Instead, girls should be chasing dope boys, “killaz” and babies daddies who can afford the price of whatever she’s offering for sale.
This makes me sad, because as ignorant as Nicki Minaj is, hip-hop has become so disgusting that it no longer makes room for women with any message other than the one that is most degrading. It’s hard to imagine that Nicki really had any other choice, and I truly doubt that even Nicki Minaj herself was eager to transform into the embarrassing caricature that she has become. Healthy promotions of sensuality are one thing, but Nicki makes Kim Kardashian look like Michelle Obama.
To understand how we’ve allowed big corporations to distort our minds into becoming something that we are not, we may want to return to our roots. Africa remains a place where family values actually mean something and dignity has a value that goes beyond the size of your record deal. Michael Imhotep from The African History Network is one of the people who can help us understand these lessons.
In an intriguing radio segment below, entitled, “Nicki Minaj, Anaconda & The Marketing of Destruction to African American Youth,” Imhotep speaks about how harmful media influences affect the thinking and self-esteem of black children. Nicki Minaj is the target, with her video “Anaconda” serving as an interesting topic of conversation. If you haven’t seen the video, you should probably take a look. It will give you a sense of the imagery that’s being marketed to young black people, and may also help you understand why STD infections are becoming a worse problem than they were before.
The video has over 300 million views, so Nicki Minaj may consider it to be a success. But the question is whether money is the only way that we measure achievement in the black community? Is it impossible to have a double bottom line of community responsibility that exists in conjunction with the all-mighty dollar? After all, if whites control most of the wealth in America, does our dependence on money as a source of self-esteem dilute our ability to become self-sufficient?
As a case-in-point to show just how differently artists today are trained to think, you should take a look at a speech given by the group TLC after winning a number of Grammys in 1996. In the speech, the group members go out of their way to explain that they are proud to be role models for young girls and honored that children look up to them. They also seemed to feel that being responsible to their community was just as important as making money.
Fast forward a few years later, and Nicki Minaj is shoving a banana down her throat. Do you ever wonder what a 9-year old girl is going to think when she sees that video? What kind of future are we giving her? What is her perception of womanhood? What kinds of relationship choices is she going to make? How does this affect her self-esteem? How will she expect men to treat her? Will her kids have a father or a sperm donor? All of these realities are shaped by the mind that we implant into the skull of that child, and she’s learning every day from media.
Michael’s show is at this link, please please please check it out. You’ll enjoy it, his words are powerful and informative. The fact is that, in this critical phase of black history, we must be willing to draw lines in the sand and let the world know what imagery is and is not acceptable to our children. If we let others continue this intellectual genocide much longer, our community is going to perish.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.
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Great article - there are definitely some young people who will gravitate to the most base characteristics of Nikki - but as some have said in their comments, that is not the only option. Nikki is no fool, she's doing well for herself despite the negative attention she gets. A person on the ground with the youth (teachers, parents) might point out to young girls how much of who we see is only a façade...
There will always be good and bad examples of how to live. If we can only get the young to recognize there are choices to be made. There is powerful infomation to be gleaned from Nikki. If you can learn from the mistakes and achievements of those that come before you... imagine what you can accomplish, what failures you can avoid?
There will be no eradication of what one feels is a bad role model - that range is just too wide. What we can do is identify the strengths and weaknesses of those in the public eye - use those things as touchstones in the teaching/mentoring process. We absolutely can reduce the music to "just music" and the display to "just entertainment" but we have to put the effort in.
Lil Kim started it first with the wigs, boobs, and surgery. Women are pressured to fit in a male dominated world. However, why are we so down on Nicki Minaj, she is just an image, and not a role model. Parents have to parent point blank. Hugh Hepher is the biggest pimp in Hollywood, so where is that outrage.
I totally agree with this article and the author. He has spoken my mind for me these past yyears. Truth will always be truth but if you are getting offended because of this. You are being plain ignorant.
This is the issue of the black community. Our most educated members jump to criticize the individuals that they feel are "misbehaving". Children will focus on celebrities,everyevery does, the issue is that they have no other options. When I was little I wanted to be a fly girl, but I had other role models. I saw other women around me doing other things. If you take issue with Nikki Minaji, what are you doing to show another little black girl there is another options. I am quite tired of the criticism of the black middle class. We complain about thoses "other black people" but do nothing to help them. I am not talking about writing a check to the NAACP or putting your children in all black groups. What are you doing to show the little girl can be more than some man's eye candy. You know why kids idolize these rappers bc they come back. When is the last time you have seen a dr. going back to the neighborhood he grew up in to play basketball? Pull up in your bmw and when the kids ask you how you got it it tell them. Tell them you took a long time to get there but once you got it, it becomes a lot harder to get rid of. Show them that a hustle can be legal. Stop running out to the suburbs talking about you made it, then forming your mouth to criticize those you left who havent. Be part of the solution, not the damn problem. Also when Anaconda comes on me and my BA and MBA go hard on the dance floor. I work damn hard during the week blending in, so I enjoy songs that remind me that what the good Lord blessed me with will put a man to sleep and some who I still manage to make it to work on Monday.
First of all, Nicki shouldn't be anyone's role model if she doesn't sign herself up to be. Good parents shouldn't have to rely on celebrities to set an example when they should be the example for their children. Nicki is an entertainer. So at the end of the day, she will entertain her fans with her music in a way that makes them happy. And so what if she's shoving a banana down her throat in her music video. It's a music video. Why is there no talk on Eminem with his misogynistic lyrics or Lil Kim for that matter or Iggy. But you guys come for the relevant one to start a conversation. Cool.
Hmmmh wat do u ecpect from a person who has sold their soul to the devil himsself...
To "Hating Peaces of Shits"...wow, just wow. I think I lost a few points off of my IQ just by reading your post. You just proved the author's point, so thank you for your extremely unintelligent post. Keep teaching your daughter to idolize Nicki. Maybe you can earn money off of her one day by being her pimp. Nicki did this to herself so just stop. She's a piece of trash with fake boobs and a fake ass. It's funny how she's so proud of something that isn't even hers! She paid for it!
Why are parents allowing their kids to watch her anyways? She didn't come into the game to be a role model to kids........ PARENTS should be role models to THEIR kids! They should be parenting their own kids, be a good parent and stop using the"celebrities are bad role models for my kids" excuse. If you raise your kids properly then they won't copy Nicki even when they see the Anaconda video! Nicki makes music for ADULTS not kids.
Great article that brings up a topic that we should all be willing to examine. The commenter "Hating Peaces" is a prime example of how we've failed some our people.
BELIEVE it or not but you can determine the mental health of a people just by listening to their music!
THE first book I read on this subject was [A EMPIRE OF THEIR OWN]subtitle HOW THE JEWS INVENTED HOLLYWOOD, written by a JEWISH author named NEIL GABLER.
IF you read this book this subject will unfold in front of you like a blooming flower.
JEWS control almost everything we see and hear, it is they that determine whether there is a NICKI MINAJ or a LIL'WAYNE,these creatures are literally created by the JEWS.
IN their own publications JEWS openly brag of their power and that they are in fact the creators of AMERICAN culture
SOME of the biggest names in rap music most of us have never heard before but I found them , their companies and the artist that they control both past and present, here are some of their names.
JIMMY IOVINE------[DR DRE]
LUCIEN GRAINGE--CEO
DAVID GEFFEN MGR----SNOOP DOGG
ROGER FAXON ---CEO --EMI
JERRY HELLER--MGR--NWA
EDGAR BRONFMAN JR-- CEO
LYON COHEN---MGR-- JAY-Z
ALL of these men are JEWS!