With the recent request from Nicki Minaj to speak at her Alma mater being denied I found it appropriate, but then the decision made me think why? Thinking about why, lead to me questioning the whole Hip-Hop musical landscape. Why do we make certain allowances for certain artists when others would be vilified?

When I first heard that Nicki Minaj wanted to speak at her old high school and was denied, my first reaction was “of course!” Why would they let her speak to a group of school children when her music has been less than inspirational? Her stage name for starters is a play on the phrase “ménage à trois” which translates to 3 people engaged in sexual activity together. This is not the most universally palatable name, but it is a stage name nonetheless, whatever. Then I began to think about the recent singles Minaj has put out and they are all problematic when making a case to speak to impressionable school children. First on the list is one song that drummed up a lot of controversy amongst fans and critics and elicited response records from many of her male rap counterparts, which is “Looking Ass Nigga.” The whole premise of the record was to berate men who posed as something they weren’t. I thought the record was male bashing, but it did its job in terms of doing to men what men have said about women over the years in Hip-Hop. Again, I thought whatever. Nicki’s latest single “Anaconda” is a song about men with big penises and getting her “salad tossed.” Again, I don’t care because men in Hip-Hop have been making sexually explicit songs for years. Why is it then that we impose respectability politics to Nicki Minaj and make allowances for someone like Beyoncé who also makes sexually explicit songs?

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