Mainstream Outlets Are Waking Up To Nicki Minaj’s Impact As A Hip Hop Gatekeeper

“Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.” Jim Morrison

Representation in media matters because it gives a view of individual identities, societal norms and cultural relevancy. The power of media lies within its reach. With the push of a button or stroke of a pen, media outlets can shape our perception and view point of the most relevant world events to the most riveting cultural moments. Making representation in media critical to the success, advancement and historical recordkeeping of the triumphs of women. Women have long been marginalized and underrepresented in media and none more than the black woman.

Media has often failed to accurately address our plight and often underestimate our power; none more so than with Nicki Minaj. But, a rift in the “media paradigm” has occurred opening its doors to the Mother of All Eras. This is a celebration. Celebrating the fact that thru all its faults; mainstream media has finally gotten it right by acknowledging and appreciating the talent, skill, and commercial dominance of the incomparable Nicki Minaj.

.@TheRoot crowns @NICKIMINAJ as the most influential female rapper:

“While some like to play on her name, there’s no denying Nicki Minaj’s impact on the rap game.” pic.twitter.com/km4BgFiere

— Ice Spice-✰ (@lce_Splce) June 16, 2023

I haven’t been a fan of The Root in years, but I can’t deny the truth spoken in a recent writeup they did on Minaj.  We have long hailed Nicki as the female rap standard and it’s nice to see The Root agrees. Nicki set the bar so high in female rap that she is competing against herself at this point. Coining herself the “female Weezy,” Nicki has lived up to that standard in every sense of the phrase. With a brutal work ethic and determination to be compared lyrically with the greatest stars hip-hop culture has ever produced. Never daring to step outside of the limits female rap was confined to; Nicki immersed herself in the technique of rap and technical aspect of music making. 

She understands the layering of instruments, vocals and all the expertise that goes into making a song. Very few female rappers have this ability and even fewer can write their own raps, let alone create an entire song. As the standard bearer of female rap, 16 years into her career Minaj is still dominating the charts and delivering music that makes the much touted “hottest new female rappers out” sound like amateurs. Her razor-sharp lyricism, lethal penmanship, quick wit, and versatility is unmatched. As was stated in The Root’s article, Nicki remains the most influential and successful female rapper ever.

I think a lot of industry insiders and female rappers hate on Nicki because they buy into the notion that a magic formula to her success exists and she won’t share it. However, there is no formula; it’s just talent, hardwork, risk taking, and active prayer life. But duds are always looking for the easy road to success.

.@Forbes: “Nobody Can Sell A Single In Hip-Hop Like @NICKIMINAJ.” “Minaj is one of the few artists in her chosen genre who can reliably count on selling music. Her ability to sell songs sets her apart from her peers in hip-hop in a major way.” “Anything she releases quickly turns… pic.twitter.com/a4gyybX5v0

— CELEBSLOVENICKIMINAJ (@celebslovenicki) June 21, 2023

I was thoroughly surprised to see Billboard acknowledge what we all knew in their write up from 6/21/23. It wasn’t that Nicki Minaj was the only one, she was just the most culturally and commercially dominant. They mentioned her 7-year BET award wins and corrected the narrative that “she was the only one.” Nicki was never the only one; she just catapulted into superstar status by daring to be her authentic self and taking risks. In no way does that disrespect or discredit the other awesome female rappers that were doing their thing then and now. Young Ma, Iggy Azalea, Trina, Dej Loaf, AB (her batshit crazy self), Tink, Rhapsody and more were all out during Nicki’s meteoric rise and it never diminished their potential.

Nicki opened herself up for the success of crossing over and the criticisms that came with it. I’m sure she would tell you if asked that it looked easy once everything was packaged and presented, but fand was grueling on her mental and physical wellbeing. She took all the daggers for crossing over when it wasn’t accepted in hip-hop and she was mocked for it. Now, everybody is trying to get a ‘Super Bass,’ ‘Starships’ and David Guetta type collabs. Battle scars are expected when you are the standard bearer blazing trails for the ingrates coming behind you.

As hip-hop continues to be the most consumed musical genre in America, 16 years into her career, Nicki continues to lead and dominate the pure sales charts. Think I’m lying? Ask Forbes. In a recent article published on 6/20/23, Forbes discussed Nicki’s dominance on Billboard’s pure sales charts. Nicki has accumulated over 15 number one hits on the Digital Song Sales chart as well as placing second only to Taylor Swift in the amount of Billboard Hot 100 entries. Selling music has proved to be a difficult task in the era of streaming. It takes a loyal and dedicated fanbase to part ways with their money when music is basically free now. That speaks a lot to the connection an artist has to their fanbase.

Billboard honours Nicki Minaj’s seven year consecutive win at the BET awards:

— “Minaj often faced competitors that were laughably out of her league in terms of commercial and cultural impact.” pic.twitter.com/ZZVHpg4Wi6

— The Onika Magazine  (@onikamagazinee) June 21, 2023

A relationship that has been tested and weighed against the odds. Proving that Nicki Minaj is as commercially viable as ever, even as she outsells and out streams those that were used to replace her. Nicki’s finger is on the pulse of the culture and she moves it forward with every beat. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone to know that all of Nicki’s features and solo singles have charted this year. She currently has 3 female rap collabs charting on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. This isn’t an easy feat and reflects the ever growing power of a Nicki Minaj feature and her fanbase. Name another female rapper that can do it without label manipulation?

In searching for the “Nicki Minaj formula” a lot of labels and female rap acts try to replicate her success without acknowledging the foundation she spent a decade plus building. You will never have success without a foundation that YOU built, no matter what the label tells you. Instead of investing in themselves and building their foundation (work ethic, skill and core fanbase) a lot of female rappers are riding waves. Waves are a natural momentum that you mimic in hopes of it carrying you to the next level. The problem with wave riding is it gives you fleeting success. Success that is only for the moment because once the wave starts to lose momentum (the force that’s making it move), the female rapper starts scrambling for the next wave to the next level.

Unlike some female rappers with the “360 influencer push,” Nicki possesses her own momentum. That’s why she can drop a solo single, spin around and release a feature. She doesn’t need a push from anyone because her foundation was built to move her forward. Nicki is the wave.

Written by Kara B [Twitter: @karabrazey20 ]