Nicki Minaj and all that Harajuku Barbie shit she talks about has taken another one. If you don't believe in zombies, I highly encourage you to get a load of Nicki Minaj stans. They are worse than Beyonce stans. At least Bey stans have tangible reasons for being rabid fans. Nicki Minaj fans, not so much.
Nicki Minaj has turned a legion of black women, both young and old, into babbling, fake British accent using, gregarious weave wearing, teenage mutant Barbie wannabes. The above basket case in the video is probably one of the worst cases of Nicki Minajitis I have ever seen in my life. And it won't get better. The chick has steadily built up more PR about her, so she's generating more rabid, and devout, fans every day. I almost feel like it's Armageddon.
I know this is a societal problem, but I'm more concerned that black women are on their "white girl" because someone with what could be classified as identity issues (Nicki Minaj refers to herself as the Nicki Lewinsky, black Sarah Jessica Parker and black Hannah Montana) is making them believe it's cool. Everything about the video screams narcissism and delusion, but what's seriously disturbing is this disdain for anything perceived to be black, and the desire to sound like a ditzy white girl. And people wondered why I railed against the So In Style Barbie line Mattel unveiled.
I guess sounding like an intelligent black woman is a complete fail, when sounding like a ditzy, bougie white girl is apparently where it's at. And this is the appeal that Nicki Minaj has for her rapidly growing, and pathetically vapid, fanbase. She is Lady Gaga-esque in that she makes the absurd and moronic look totally legitimate and sensible. At least we all know that Lady Gaga is a hybrid of many cool artists, most notably Grace Jones (who did it better) and even Kelis. Who is Nicki trying to emulate? What are her influences aside from colorism? Nicki Minaj peddles the "White Valley Girl" steez to her fans like she is selling snake oil to pay rent.
What's disconcerting is that far too many black women have fallen for it. Another aspect of her appeal is this perceived femininity, but that femininity isn't natural. It's drawn from age old notions that white women, and all of their quirks, action, style, etc. are feminine, so therefore emulating those stereotypes (some of the worst ones) will therefore make one feel feminine. This is problematic because that, in and of itself, stipulates that black women and their quirks, their actions, styles, etc. are not feminine.
What would've been a plus--her being irreverent and quirky and different--turned into a negative when she associated that with "whiteness." The message equates being different with being white. But if you ask Grace Jones, being different and "odd" had little to do with race; it just happens naturally.
I'm not begging her to talk about toting guns, or gangbanging or baby daddies or riding or dying; all the things that people would assume a black woman would rap about. I'm just asking if the REAL Nicki can please stand up and reveal herself, because this shit right here about being a "ditzy white girl" with a fucked up British accent is sad.
Why do black women latch on to some of the worst "role models?" Why do we as a collective praise the Natalie Nunns, Nickis; you know, all the Sapphires and Jezebels of pop culture, and completely disregard the queens? Where are those who want to emulate Corrine Bailey Rae, or India.Arie, or Ayo, or Sade, Jill Scott? Why do black women run to the women who peddle self-hate and envy of others? When will we learn to embrace people who embrace US?
P.S. Before anyone gets on this whole "you envy her" thing like they did in the Beyonce post, please understand that whether or not you choose to see it, it is clear when sisters have fallen for the "trap." This is not about being "blacker than" or anything like it. I just want to know why Nicki has made it clear that she equates coquettishness and the atypical with "whiteness."
