Being A Bad Girl: Badu vs. Minaj (Part 2)
Bad girls make art that comes out of experience and not style. -Linda Goode Bryant
Have you seen the June/ July 2010 issue of VIBE magazine? It’s a double cover featuring Nicki Minaj and Erykah Badu. Both ladies are adorned in body paint. For Erykah it’s the kind inspired by the Indian henna work often seen on Hindu brides-to-be. Nicki’s body paint is more cartoonish than culturally based. Her entire upper body– ta-tas and all, are painted white to look like a form fitting bodysuit. One is organic homage, the other Murakami spectacle. Make no mistake they represent two distinct faces of Black female sexuality that permeates our culture today. In one corner you have the Barbie doll, bobble head, butt-up and boobs out brashness of Nicki Minaj. In the other corner there’s Erykah’s Queen mother, afroed, ankhed-down tease of curve and cleavage. No doubt either sister has a problem showing their as$ and their motivations may even be the same (record sales, buzz), but how their Black booties resonate within mainstream culture is a lil different.
Badu is a Bad Girl meaning she empowers and sets trends because she knows how to manipulate, allude and convolute around her bootyliciousness whereas Minaj surrenders her power by always giving up the reveal upfront. In this post-Luke, post-sex tape, post-Trina world, crotch shots don’t make you a rebel rouser; they just make you real regular. In VIBE, Erykah aka @fatbellybella states: “Society has a problem with female nudity when it is not packaged for the consumption of male entertainment. Then it becomes confusing.”
Meanwhile the Harajuku Barbie says in her interview, “I have to invent something to show that a girl can rap.” She then is quoted as spitting this for Lil Wayne: “I guess it’s my turn/ Maybe it’s time to put this pu**y on your sideburns.” Nah Naj, check yourself and check your rhymes. This only shows that a girl can prostitute herself for 8 bars of mediocrity. If it took Bush to bring about Obama then I am optimistic that Nicki Minaj’s popularity will bring back Lauryn Hill who will dead this nonsense.
- Here are 5 other reasons why Nicki Minaj is NOT a Bad Girl:
1. Her hardcore, multi-colored wig shtick has been done before and perfected by Lil Kim like 8 years ago. Imitators are never radical they are just redundant.
2. Because she changed her last name to Minaj. We get it. You like threesomes. Thank god you didn’t do Nicki Minaj a Trois, but seriously Onika Maraj is beautiful and has way more weight and resonance.
3. Because her bizarre outfits, affected voices and weird facial expressions are more Shrek than they cause wreck. Being animated is cool and totally in the tradition of hip-hop ala Ol Dirty Bastard, Busta Rhymes and Flavor Flav, but if you have no real character and skill to pull from you end up falling flat. 3-D is in baby grrrl. Recognize!
4. Because Diddy is her manager. C’mon son. She’ll be pop, dropped and a centerfold for poppycock before she’s ever hip-hop. See resume of Aubrey O’Day and Cassie for details. Shyne and Mase are also good references.
5. “Massive Attack”
Ha ha ha ha ha–nice!!! Don’t know much about Nicki Minaj, but I do like the way that you broke her down to her very last compound–“see how it sounds, a little unrational, a lot of emcess like to use the word dramatical, fresh for 88 you suckassssssssssss”
Nice breakdown. But I think you’re preaching to the wrong choir. Not too many people of our generation are checking for Nicki Minaj. You need to pull a Kanye West at the next BET Awards and drop your science there.
Love it!
Yes I think very deeply that Miss Nicki is no female
savant to the rap game. Seriously she is not about to set it as the
‘best’ or ‘baddest’. When it comes to being Bad Erykah has long proven her weight and her relevance. Sure she may have had some very personal
tracks that might have not been eaten up like pop candy
but she’s all Erykah. She’s not trying to be anything else. As I like to call her Miss Pimptress has class in her brand sexy. Nicki might have blow up doll/porn girl appeal but what happens when that fades. Wish her luck but trust I won’t be rushing to see or hear her perform live or digital download.
And can she really hold her own amongst the men without talking sex? Where is MC Lyte?
Nice analysis, Nic! What’s really sad for me is that I believe Nicki has skills–she’s let some peek through on a couple collabos of the many she’s found on: “My Chick Bad” by Luda and “Woohoo” w/Christina Aguilera are examples. But: being the physical embodiment of neutered (mainly white) female objectification (Barbie) mixed with Japanese Harajuku highlights feels misguided and forced. As an advocate for women in rap I want her to win–and I met her during a shoot and she’s not dumb; she’s actually pretty cool from the limited time I spent with her. I need to hear the core competency first: her musicianship. Bring on the album an chill with the technicolor wigs. She used to be a hardcore battle rapper before she got swept up into the major label machine–check YouTube. Time will tell if the lane she’s borrowed is a dead end…
I appreciate this discussion. However, there has not been a relevant female voice making noise in the Hip Hop game for a while now and I am very curious why it takes a female MC or entertainer like Nicki Minaj to spark our interest again & shock us back into consciousness. I applaud Nicki Minaj for enduring the hard work, hate and hardships that it took for a woman in the Rap game to arrive at her current status. We shouldn’t really worry about Nicki Minaj too much because before Hip Hop gets tired of her I am sure she will have re-invented herself into the NEXT biggest thing which we will all be waiting for anyway. We should concern ourselves with how the sad state of affairs within the Hip Hop community and the Pop culture at large has allowed the younger generation to accept this madness.
Thanks. Lovin the smart feedback!
@Thembisa: Great point: “…being the physical embodiment of neutered (mainly white) female objectification (Barbie) mixed with Japanese Harajuku highlights feels misguided and forced.”
@Claudia: Very well said: “Miss Pimptress has class in her brand sexy. Nicki might have blow up doll/porn girl appeal but what happens when that fades.”
@Chynadahl: I may be going to Soul Train Awards so I’m ready to pull da trigga (No Henny tho!)
‘Memorex’ is my joint. Nicki rocks the alter-ego style hard on that one.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ltah_nicki-minaj-memorex_music
Love!
I’ve always been a fan of lil Kim but her legacy and longevity speak for itself. I’ve heard she wasn’t pleased with her portrayal in Biggie’s movie either. It goes to show that even she does’nt want to show her ass forever. I hope that future women in rap will realize that they are real role models. What they say does have an effect on our society of young girls. Even the censored version of Niki whatever her name is lyrics shouldn’t be on the airwaves. She could rap about her pussy for days but even that’s gonna get loose. Erakah on the other had can speak political, emotional, and realistic thoughts about women. I was listening to her album the other day and realized how when I first heard Erakah when I was 16. She could feel my pain, now I am 23 and she tells me about my life. Maturity is reached when you realize the lesson we want to give our future generations is a voice; not just sex. Sexuality isn’t new; yah you could do what men do. Playin and hatin but then you create the babies that hate because, your played the fool. If you wanna make an impact in a man’s world better do what they didn’t expect, think first.