Celebrity Highlight: Nicki Minaj

Minaj went on to collaborate with artists from all genres, performing at award shows and helping songs reach the top of billboard charts. She quickly made a name for herself within the music industry where female rappers were previously scarce. The absence of females in hip hop was normal before Minaj debuted her first studio album to mainstream music. “I remember hearing Itty Bitty Piggy for the first time and right there I knew female rap was going to make a necessary comeback, and it was going to be great,” Jola Oke, a senior biology major said.

With new success comes new enemies. Minaj experienced conflicts with other artists such as Lil Kim. “I believe people love to watch females fight, even if there isn’t a clear reason for them to be fighting. Entertainment, that’s what it is,” Taylor Hill, a senior broadcasting major said. “And it completely sucks because there’s a whole bunch of men getting along and making music, why can’t the girls do the same without pressure to fight with each other?”

Minaj’s fame spread worldwide after several successful album releases and television appearances. “The PinkPrint,” Minaj’s third studio album, was released in 2014 and contained songs that were vulnerable, open and darker than what fans would expect from the artist. “‘Four Door Aventador’ is one of my favorite songs on the album, it gives me Biggie vibes and reminds me of why I love Nicki Minaj,” Jazsmine Kerr, a senior musical theater major said, comparing Minaj to the rapper Notorious B.I.G.

Minaj’s fourth studio album is highly anticipated, and has been on the radar since 2015. It is scheduled to be released before the end of 2018. Minaj is more than an ordinary female rapper or artist; she is a businesswoman who knows her worth. “This album is going to be it. Just watch, she’s going to remind all the people who doubted her, exactly why she is Nicki Minaj and the queen that she is,” Hill said.