By: Josiah Sanon and Rami Mansi
People often say to “never meet your heroes”, but nowadays it might be best not to search them up either.
In our current political climate, it is arguably true now more than ever that a person’s politics and what they support and stand for says a lot about them. So it says a great deal when someone like the once-revered “Queen of Rap,” Nicki Minaj, who supposedly always supported marginalized communities, starts siding with far-right politics.
Minaj is objectively one of the biggest rappers in all of music history, and anyone who even tries to dispute her title as “The Queen of Rap” runs the risk of getting doxxed. However, her latest decisions have shown that the “Queen” has obviously forgotten who her subjects are. If you ask me, she hasn’t forgotten; she just doesn’t care anymore. By really breaking down Nicki’s behavior over the past few years, even before she shook hands with the President, it’s clear she’s been in a historic decline in both her career and her integrity.
The term MAGA is derived from Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” and is now used to refer to the conservatives who have fully changed what it means to be conservative, as Trump’s presidency has emboldened them to make their ignorance and prejudice public, and the glue that holds their heavily cultish movement together.
It is MAGA who is particularly in support of the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who are terrorizing, kidnapping, and even killing people from these same marginalized communities.
Nicki started to show her true colors when Cardi B came onto the rap scene and took the spotlight. When a physical altercation turned online rap beef into a real-life feud.
Another black female artist who has gotten the displeasure of crossing Nicki is national treasure Megan Thee Stallion. The two were actually on good terms for a while, until a successful collaboration with Cardi B and a rumor that has since been proven false pushed their relationship to a boiling point after a string of diss tracks reignited a hate-fueled feud.
In Megan Thee Stallion’s song, “Hiss,” she says, “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan // These hoes mad at Megan’s Law,” in reference to Nicki’s husband, Kenneth Petty, a registered sex offender.
Wait a minute, though, what exactly is Megan’s Law, and why is Petty practically banned from even looking at a school building? A quick Google search or a quick chat with a law student will tell you that Megan’s Law is a federal law that makes information about sex offenders available to everyone to keep their communities safe. Nicki’s response is barely noteworthy, but in summary, she stooped so low as to talk about Megan’s dead mother, showing her pettiness and desperation to tear down other female artists instead of recognizing she used to be in their same position and providing even a semblance of all the love and support she got from many other artists when she came onto the scene.
This quick trip down memory lane shows Nicki’s stance on basically every controversy she’s either created or been associated with has always been aligned with the conservatives she is currently shaking hands and walking on stage with now.
Her willingness to tear down other female artists complements Trump’s new policies surrounding abortion and his restriction of women’s reproductive rights. Nicki’s marriage to Petty also makes ignoring all 34 of Trump’s felonies a walk in the park.
It is also important to note the possible benefits Minaj and Petty would receive from Minaj’s public support of MAGA, including getting closer to having her citizenship approved. This transaction of support for citizenship defines not only the wavering integrity and personal ethics Minaj has, but the desperation for support from public figures on MAGA’s behalf. The far-right has been seeking out young spokespeople and influencers to promote their beliefs and agendas. Minaj is yet another spokesperson added to the list.
Overall, when looking at Nicki Minaj, her previous loyalty to her former fanbase may have been inauthentic to begin with. Nicki’s music has always been a big part of many people’s childhoods, particularly Black and queer youth who now have no choice but to watch one of their favorite artists show her true colors and turn her back on them. Although some cannot let go of nostalgia and insist on remaining her fans, which now means supporting a political movement that is taking away the rights of anyone who isn’t a white, straight, cis man.
Nicki’s decision to join MAGA might’ve been a long time coming and after all the bridges she’s burned and her destroying her own legacy and career she’s also all out of options but her fans aren’t, while some follow in her footsteps and choose to stay ignorant it is important now more than ever to support people who truly want to uplift you and your community.