Pop music and the gay community have a long, storied relationship. In the past few decades, some of the most prominent supporters of the LGBT community have been pop stars. Along with their support come accusations of the stars having ulterior motives, whether related to image or commercial appeal.
Now, I’m not one to indulge in such theories normally. Among the current crop of pop stars, I believe artists like Ke$ha and Katy Perry are well intentioned with their messages to the LGBT community. The most notable pop star supporter of our community, Lady Gaga, is an out and proud bisexual, so I believe her support is wholly heartfelt.
There is one artist, though, who likes to claim she support the LGBT community who’s gone over the line too many times for my liking. That star? Nicki Minaj.
Controversy surrounding Nicki’s connection to the LGBT community is nothing new. Back in 2010, as her popularity was starting to explode, Nicki made a series of conflicting statements that both confirmed and denied her bisexuality. Now, whether or not Nicki’s bi is something only she ultimately knows, but playing both sides of the fence on the issue fails to properly handle what is ultimately a non-issue. I’ll take her word, though, that she’s not bi.
Of course, just because Nicki’s straight doesn’t mean she can’t be an ally, and the rapper has made efforts to support her gay fanbase. She’s even identified Roman Zolanski, the most…masculine of Minaj’s alter egos, as gay.
This brings me to where my own problem with Nicki comes into play. Undoubtedly, Nicki Minaj is one of the biggest rappers in the industry these days. She has the power to influence the industry not only based on her popularity, but her status as the de facto leading female hip-hop artist in the music industry.
For all of the claims she makes to support the gay community, she could be a force to combat the rampant homophobia present in the rap community. Instead, on record she seems to at least tolerate some of the more prominent examples of rappers who are, at best, not gay friendly.
Take “Roman’s Revenge,” off of her Pink Friday album. The song features Eminem making use of the terms “faggot” and “no homo.” Not exactly what one would expect to hear on an album from someone who claims to support the LGBT community, even if the verse didn’t come from Minaj directly.
Potentially more problematic is a collaboration on her recent release, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Near the end of the album is a duet with Beenie Man, who’s been called out in the past for homophobic lyrics, including some that called for the murder of gays.
These collaborations don’t make Minaj a hypocrite, at least not directly. Still, her work with artists who have been homophobic on record makes me uneasy. As much as I want to believe that Minaj truly does support the gay community, I have to question how far that loyalty goes. Of course, it’s not going to be completely easy to find fellow rappers in the mainstream rap community who haven’t said something at least latently homophobic on record. That doesn’t excuse Minaj, though. If she really wants to say she supports us, she should show it on record.
I do share some of the concerns but also acknowledge that not all gay people see it quite like the Elijah. I have listened to Eminem for years and have never been offended by his music. I see him as a poet and writer. I also find the assumption that gay people are one voice and are all sharing the same agenda is insulting. Its only music and I think most people can contextualise it when its just a phrase in a song – folk do use these words. Art reflects life or visa versa so instead of being all precious and sub-culture about anything that says ‘faggot’ etc..
I do agree that there are boundaries and inciting violence and murder to GLB people does cross this line. Things are getting better for all types of gay and lesbian people especially in the UK. However, we need mature debates about portrayals in the media.
This is ridiculous! Nicki Minaj is one of the biggest artists behind the proactivity of transmitting a positive view on any sexuality. She plays about with people with regards to her sexuality because she feels that it shouldn’t define her. We know GaGa as the “Gay” artists that rambles on and on about freedom of gays act. Minaj has a HUGE gay fan base but she is not known solely on that like gaga is. So what if she doesn’t want to explicitly state her sexuality, in fact good on her. With regards to the use of “no homo” and “faggot” Eminem clearly didn’t mean them in an offensive way. I call people faggots all the time, like black people call each other “nigga’s” and use that in songs, despite this Nicki did state that she was upset by Em’s use of the word word in her song. People need to stop getting emotional over words like faggot, nigger, dyke, paki, white trash, chink, cunt and such. These words have no meaning unless you take them to be as such. I fully believe that Nicki has fully and wholeheartedly supported the gay community by giving young gay people a standing and voice in rap and hiphop, something an artist has never done before. Gay people have never had an artist in those genre’s that represent, Nicki does that. She also always sends encouraging messages to her gay fans and fans that are going through a hard time. Nicki however does not do it as publicly as Gaga. Nicki and her Barbz have a close intimate relationship, they share private jokes and messages alike. Minaj will be around for a VERY long time, we haven’t seen all the has to offer yet.