In a series of tweets yesterday, Nicki Minaj vented her frustrations about being a Black woman in music.
Minaj’s tweets were specifically about her two videos—“Anaconda” and “Feelin’ Myself”—not being nominated for MTV’s Video Music Awards for Video of the Year.
Hey guys @MTV thank you for my nominations. Did Feeling Myself miss the deadline or…?
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015If I was a different “kind” of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Minaj took her complaints further, wondering aloud why Black women artists are rarely recognized for their influence in pop culture. #Gurl
I’m not always confident. Just tired. Black women influence pop culture so much but are rarely rewarded for it. https://t.co/2xOvJzBXJX
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
That’s where Taylor Swift jumped in, tweeting, “@NICKIMINAJ I’ve done nothing but love and support you. It’s not like you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..” However, Minaj, like the rest of the world, was utterly confused.
Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn’t say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Swift, who has since, deleted her tweets, responded, “@NICKIMINAJ If I win, please come up with me!! You’re invited to any stage I’m ever on.
And with this, Swift gallantly walked into the Tone Deaf Hall of Fame. What Minaj was alluding to is the music industry’s continued hypocrisy when it comes to Black artists who set the trends, but are rarely recognized at awards shows and such. Double standards in the industry are real and instead of trying to understand where her “friend” was coming from, Swift made the issue solely about her. Girl, bye.
I’m so glad u guys get to see how this stuff works. Taylor took her music off spotify and was applauded. We launched Tidal & were dragged.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Though the Twitterati has been debating whether or not “Anaconda” was the right song to get into a conversation on cultural appropriation about, we can surely all agree that Nicki has a point.
What did you think of her tweets?