How The Nicki Minaj Hate Train Is Costing The Industry Millions

Live by the sword. Die by the sword. Simply put, what you put out-expect it back. Engaging in treacherous and undignified behavior, reaping ill-gotten gains while rejoicing in the slander of others, will be the exact chapter your story ends on. We are witnessing in real time as the price of over indulgence in foolery and dirty industry tactics backfire on all those who participated.

Back in 2017, I thought to myself, there must be a reset button to correct the course female rap was going down. Instead of being driven by healthy peer to peer competition, it was character assassinations, smear campaigns and the outing of all social and cultural norms. And it was all rooted in envy and jealousy. The participants in the mess are too many to name but they will all face the same outcome; laying on the proverbial sword they yielded.

It’s already happening. Streaming, charts, playlisting and radio were all swords and daggers aimed at Nicki Minaj during the “the hate train era.” To diminish her legacy, the industry and urban media (dj’s, influencers, radio, hip hop blogs, YouTube content creators) chipped at the attributes that made Nicki Minaj the superstar of female rap. By tearing at her profitability, image and her passion for music, a divide was opened so that bacteria and algae could thrive.

The industry wanted a piece of the market share of female rap fans that Nicki cultivated. For the crusty labels to “tap in” to the female rap market, they would have to move Nicki out of the way. So, they created the “360 influencer female rapper,” a female who will rap if they give her a 360 deal, words to recite and a major push to be on Nicki’s level.

The “push” from the label and the industry would be so enticing to the hungry female “rapper”, they would take it with no hesitation. Who wouldn’t want a guaranteed slot to be compared to Nicki Minaj after 1 song? Would you turn down the opportunity to benefit from smear campaigns that your label was running against her? After all, if Nicki was the bad guy, wouldn’t that make you the good guy?

Smear campaigns were done to hinder Nicki’s profitability and to taint her image; affecting herrelationships with companies. If Nicki is embattled in bad press, then they could pitch the grossly cheaper significantly less influential “360 influencer female rapper”. It’s not about music with the 360 prototypes, it’s about fame, fits, wigs and the notion they never had to work hard to achieve what Nicki has. Or struggle with the hit or miss of an authentic come up.

For labels, the “360 influencer female rapper” was supposed to be their bridge into the female rap market, specifically Nicki Minaj fans. After watching Nicki be successful for a decade plus, the industry concocted the bs story that she had no competition and was a mean girl.  All they needed was a bitter broken black woman with no endgame to be the catalyst for their agenda.  And indeed, one was found. But it didn’t open the doors for her.  Instead it ushered in the ultimate slap to her face, a heavy tongue slithering yak in the shape of a “human.”.

But as time wore on and Nicki Minaj stuck to who she is as a person and artist, the industry backed façade started to fade. The “360 influencer female rapper” started to fall on their own swords. The chart obsession they created and the race to #1’s became their downfall. The music industry shifts forward roughly every 3 years-either you can sustain, or you get dropped off. As the industry “push” wore off, labels were left with a major problem. A bigger sword was born out of the daggers they wielded at Nicki; the fall of the inorganic rise to fame and the 360 prototypes inability to tap into Nicki Minaj’s market share.

The very thing they weaponized against Nicki, is the very thing they are falling on. Manipulated numbers, inflated egos and the complacency of urban culture created the perfect downfall for propped up pawns and labels in the red. 5 #1’s and you having venues downsize? A Grammy and you using Nicki Minaj’s likeness to promote your little shin-ding? You are doing back flips to avoid that sword but its following you sweetie…you can’t escape it.

And through all of this, Nicki stood on her own. They say you will know when the Phoenix rises by the glory of its wings and the energy emanating from its resurgence. The Phoenix is Nicki Minaj.