hot143chocolate (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} hot143chocolate) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} ohnotheydidnt,@ 2009-07-06 19:28:00 |
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| Entry tags: | music / musician |
Nicki Minaj: Baddest chick underground since Harriet Tubman
Name 5 Mainstream, Female Rappers who aren't Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, Trina or Queen Latifah. Can't?
Nicki Minaj is here to save female rap!
(will need all the help she can get)
Nicki Minaj is here to save female rap!
(will need all the help she can get)
Hailing from Southside Jamaica, Queens, Nicki and her older brother were raised primarily on their mother's modest income as a nurse's aide. Their father was perpetually unemployed and struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Witnessing her pops verbally and physically abuse her mom, Nicki promised herself a better life. "I don't take anything from men," she says. "Because I feel like one wrong move and I'll become my mother." Music was one of the few bright spots in Nicki's early years, and she sang and studied drama at Manhattan's famed LaGuardia High School. Graduating in 2003, she scrapped acting to work full-time as an administrative assistant.
Dedicating her free nights to the studio, Nicki became "the chick" in a local rap group that lasted three years, before she went solo in2006. That November, her MySpace page caught the attention of Fendi, CEO of Brooklyn's Dirty Money Records, who featured the young rapper in "The Carter Edition", on his Come Up DVD series. Lil Wayne, who appeared on the same volume, saw Nicki's swagger-filled performance and was compelled to make her part of his Young Money roster.
Vibe Magazine's piece on Nicki Minaj
Let’s get something straight. Nicki Minaj is more than just “Not Bad for a Girl.” She’ll straight embarrass some of your favorite same testosterone-fueled MCs. The Queens, N.Y., rhymer born Onika Maraj made a splash with her 2008 mixtape Sucka Free—that was a then-23-year-old Nicki getting her Lil’ Kim on in a raunchy butterfly pose while licking a lollipop. Now the first lady of Young Money has a new mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, that’s making noise, and the cinnamon head-turner is now working on her much-anticipated major label debut. Will Nicki Minaj save female rap? She certainly has the goods. Do you get a little intimidated when people call you the savior of female rap?
I don’t think intimidated is the word. I definitely get excited by it. I don’t want to let anybody down. I’ve always been the type of person to make everybody happy and get things done. I want everything to be 100 percent perfect. I do feel it when people hold me to high expectations.
On your latest mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, you covered a diverse range of musical genres from dancehall to club music to hardcore hip hop. Will we see that type of production range on your major studio debut?
[...] Records like “Kill da DJ” and stuff like that, I have fun writing that; I have fun singing. Those songs make me happy. So I think I want to make my album more like that. But whatever I do, I always will have those real songs where I talk about real things.
Do you have a specific story you want to get out to the fans?
I have a song I wrote called “Autobiography.” I came from a very intense living situation, with having a parent on drugs and not having a lot of money. So I always want to talk about the real things. But I think 90 percent of my music, I want it to be ‘feel-good music’. I’m already recording tracks for my album, but when it comes time to actually say, ‘this is the album,’ I may be in a completely different space than I’m in right now.
Now as far as the label situation goes, everybody’s been asking the $64,000 question: “What label is Nicki Minaj going to sign with?”
People will know within 30 days. I don’t think I want to wait too much longer than that. In another interview I was basically talking about the other deals that I had seen that other female rappers had signed. I felt like they weren’t treated like a star. I feel like before you sign anything in this business, you have to truly believe that you’re not only a star, but a superstar. When you think of yourself like that, you won’t really just go ahead and sign the first thing that comes your way because you’ll know that all the fame and fortune stuff will happen. Like right now, I’m not concerned with people asking, ‘When are you going to be mainstream?’ I’m not concerned with those things because I know that it’s destined to happen for me. What I’m concerned about is being a female and getting my business in order. Those are things I think a lot of females didn’t think about before. I hope that girls that come after me will remember that Nicki Minaj said, “Get your business in order first and then do what you love to do.” You’ll then be happy on both sides of the spectrum. So that’s what I’m doing. I was being a little hesitant, but we’re looking at contracts right now. You know, we’ll see what happens. I’m just gonna put it in God’s hands and leave it there.
What type of influence has Wayne had on your career?
Wayne has always been my biggest influence. It’s weird because I sit down and talk to Wayne like he’s just a regular human being, and then I walk on stage with him and there’s 20,000 people screaming for him. I think it puts it into perspective for me like, Wait a minute, this is actually attainable. I could have this; I just need to focus and remember that my grind is just beginning. I always say that that’s what I learned from Wayne the most; he never stops grinding. It showed me, Yo, this dude is the truth, and I’m going to follow in his footsteps.
I know you’ve recorded a couple of freestyles with Drake, who seems to be on everybody’s mind these days. What are your thoughts on what’s happening with him right now?
I’m just excited for him. I’m rooting for him. It’s so funny because I feel like out of all of Young Money, me and Drake are real, real close. I remember when this was just a dream of ours. We would literally sit down and talk and pour our hearts out to each other. To see this happening, it just makes me feel like a proud sister almost when it comes to him. I know that he’s talented and he’s been there to really motivate me when a lot of people weren’t there. I feel like I was able to do the same thing for him. Since we’ve met each other, we’ve been each other’s biggest fan. It’s like seeing your brother shine; it’s like the best feeling in the world.
You seem to be the one MC that all the other female MCs go after to battle.
Well, first of all, I haven’t gone at anyone. I’ve never gone at anybody. I’m not even trying to be sarcastic. I know people go at me everyday. [...] I let everybody else promote Nicki Minaj. You can talk about me in every interview you do. I won’t talk about you in shit I do.
How does it feel to go back to your old neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with the success that you have had?
When I shot my MTV mixtape footage in Jamaica, Queens, like a couple weeks ago, people we’re so shocked and excited for me. They were like, Wow! These were people that saw me as a little freakin’ kid; as a little dusty girl in elementary school! Then they see me in the park with an MTV mic in my hand, and a Ferrari and cameras all around. Most of them were guys that rapped as well. It was kind of interesting to see them look at me. I almost felt guilty; sometimes you feel guilty for your success because it’s like I know how many people have worked so hard to be recognized as a rapper. They were looking at me like, Damn! Why didn’t I get that chance? Why did it happen to her? That’s why I have to be thankful for my situation because while it’s not where I want it to be, I’m still better off than a lot of people. As far as me going back to Queens, it’s like a great homecoming. My people are always proud of me and playing my music. It’s just dope! Southside, Jamaica, Queens, all day!
I recommend listening to her latest mixtape/album Beam Me Up Scotty. You can find the link to it here.
Sources: 1 2 3 4
I can't even think of 3 mainstream female MCs who've blown up since the 2000s. Can anyone else?
Nicki Minaj and her fantastic rack bid you good day :)
