Nicki Minaj has been an undeniable trendsetter since she emerged on the Hip Hop scene in the late 2000’s. From the Chinese bangs, to the pink hair, outrageous wigs and playful outfits, Nicki has never failed to keep all eyes on her as she introduced new beauty and fashion trends.
The rap star has most recently teamed up with the likes of Marc Jacobs for the release of their latest collection, Heaven; and managed to sell out the line’s entire stock of Kiki Boots when official photos of Minaj rocking a pair hit the internet.
Minaj has been fairly quiet since giving birth to her one year old son, but has since emerged back onto the scene with the release of not one but two singles, and an exclusive interview with media host, Joe Budden.
The interview featured Minaj as the most candid that we’ve ever seen her – at many points, touching on various faults of both the music and fashion industries. She even took the time to point out, high fashion magazine, Vogue's failure to credit her and Lil Kim’s influence on popularized fashion trends.
She stated, “The same way I feel that I should already have been on the cover of American Vogue, so should Lil Kim – if we’re being all the way one thousand… When any female rapper – myself or Lil Kim – goes on the internet, everyday, we see our influence.”
She continued by explaining that the only way to combat the erasure of the achievements and creations of Black women is for the Black community to continue to proclaim and remind the world of their accomplishments. “This is why you have to mention it, y’all… It's because when we don’t mention it, we are erased from those things. They act like it didn’t happen. And therefore they can continue to minimize our influence.”
Minaj continued by highlighting how artists like Bilie Eilish have been highlighted by the fashion community with numerous high fashion covers, while artists of the Black community like Coi Leray and FKA Twigs, who re-popularized the wearing of braids and swirly baby hairs, have yet to be acknowledged with the same acclaim.
We stan a queen who tells it like it is!