Nicki Minaj Apologizes For Malcolm X Artwork
Very Necessary.
Yesterday evening, Nicki Minaj released her latest recording, “Lookin Ass Niggaz”. The song’s title is emblazoned over Malcolm X’s iconic image first published in Ebony magazine. Nicki caught wind of the backlash and offered a disingenuous apology via Instagram.
What seems to be the issue now? Do you have a problem with me referring to the people Malcolm X was ready to pull his gun out on as Lookin Ass Niggaz? Well, I apologize. That was never the official artwork nor is this an official single. This is a conversation. Not a single. I am in the video shooting at Lookin Ass Niggaz and there happened to be an iconic photo of Malcolm X ready to do the same thing for what he believed in!!!! It is in no way to undermine his efforts and legacy. I apologize to the Malcolm X estate if the meaning of the photo was misconstrued. The word “nigga” causes so much debate in our community while the “nigga” behavior gets praised and worship. Let’s not. Apologies again to his family. I have nothing but respect an adoration for u. The photo was removed hours ago. Thank you.
No matter how you slice it, the picture was disrespectful. Contrary to Nicki’s claim and the song’s lyrics, Malcolm wasn’t “ready to pull his his gun out” against men sharing one bottle in the club. In 1964, the year the photo was taken, Malcolm’s life was threatened after repudiating the Nation Of Islam and leader Elijah Muhammad. Back in ’88, KRS-One recreated the image on the cover of By All Means Necessary. As one of the few prominent Black artists in the game, Nicki has the unfortunate responsibility of representing our culture’s past, future, and present. If we continue to trivialize our history through memes, lyrics, and art, don’t expect anyone else to give a fuck.
It’s just the cold hard truth. I also felt she made a backhanded apology by using people accepting other acting like ‘niggas’. That sounded like bit of an excuse for committing a foolish act
Exactly,well said
FIRST OF ALL HER PUBLICIST WORTE THAT SHIT!!!! SECOND OF ALL, SHE’S A FUCKIN’ MONKEY!!!! PULLING THAT STUNT ESPECIALLY ON A SILLY UNNECESSARY THING CALLED BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!!! YOU NEW NIGGAS ARE A FUCKIN’ DISGRACE!!!!
……….THAT IS ALL!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
shut your dumbass up.
FUCK YOU NIGGA!!!! STRUCK A NERVE YOU BITCH???
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
lol your really trying to hide behind it’s your “opinion”? keep talkin
I AIN’T GOT NOTHIN’ TO HIDE FUCKBOY!!!! I MAKE PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MY TRUTHS!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
Your dumb.
It’s YOU’RE as in YOU ARE FUCKING RETARDED
what about Young Jeezy’s Trap Or Die cover? where was all the up rise? also NO ONE has yet to say WHY it was disrespectful…just “it’s disrespectful”…what about Kendrick involving MLK in his Backseat Freestyle? he basically compared MLK’s dream to him wanting his dick to be big as the eiffel towel…y’all are so bias…you always have something to say about her….your hatred is well documented
Damn. Those are some really good points. You have to even throw the Wiz and Curren$y “Huey Newton” in with the rest of those examples. Good insight.
“Look over there” arguments are corny, the fact of the matter is we shouldn’t associate Malcolm X with the content or message of her song, period. All the references you mentioned are disrespectful in some way but Nicki’s is easily the most blatant example. The fact remains we need to maintain respect for our history, and for once the editorial input was valid. Salute.
In Kendrick’s case, backstreet freestyle was all about highlighting the ignorant behaviour of someone who who knows better. So its conceptual rather than disrespectful.
Exactly.. kendricks point was to see it exactly for itself..
So b.dot u post the video for hits on your website and then pull this. Come on man
EXACTLY!!!!! if you really feel that strongly about it take the video off your website and stop using her for hits…but you won’t, cuz you need her
I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I GOTTA TELL YOU NIGGAS!!!! B.DOT IS NOTHING BUT A FUCKIN’ INDUSTRY PAWN AND AN INDUSTRY MASCOT!!!! A FUCKIN’ PUPPET NIGGA!!!! FUCK THAT NIGGA FOR REAL!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
I’m pretty sure anyone over the age of 15 can see this. Thanks tho for the all caps, as always
wow caps and that pissed really? fukin leave the site then.
@troop it’s not about the video numb nuts. No is referring to the video. it’s about the artwork.
Rap Radar isn’t a political website it’s a hip hop culture website. Of course they’re going to post hip hop music & if there’s a discussion to be had along with it, then they should highlight the discussion as well. Cmon son.
B.dot is that u!?!
“title is emblazoned over Malcolm X’s ionic image”
as opposed to his covalent image?
HA!!!! GOOD ONE!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
Lmao
If we don’t respect our heroes and history, how can we expect other too?! Plus, when one has the platform to reach the mass and have the attention of the youth, one has to be responsible. All of this during the month Brother Malcome was assassinated no less… Sad. More progression instead of regression please my people.
Someone seriously needs to beat this bitch over the head and lock her up in a cage somewhere !!!!
I dont think Nicki meant to disrespect Malcolm X so I really dont have a problem but as far as whoever wrote the message on Rap Radar, when you said “Nicki has the “unfortunate” responsibility of representing our culture”… I dont think there is anything “unfortunate” about that responsibility. It should be an honor to represent hip hop culture to express the opinions of millions who dont have a voice to speak publicly. Now do alot of the rappers need to make a better balance of music as far as not just saying pointless bullshit but really saying something of importance? Yes but unless Nicki just completely jumps out the window then hip hop culture should correct her for her mistakes but not reject her cause she is still one of us (a Hip Hop artists). Do I relate to her music? Cant say I do cause im not a little girl or teenage kid but When it comes to Nicki Hip Hop should be very careful how it handles her because this culture doesn’t have any women at her level really and usually the women in hip hop have short careers and then disappear so people need to let this one live. Lets not build her up just to destroy her in the public eye even if she sometimes does something stupid (unless its over the top of course). Correct her but dont reject her because its alot of people outside of hip hop culture that would love to see her fall. Malcolm X might feel a certain kinda way about his name being used but I dont think he would scold her too much after she apologized.
YEAH, BUT SHE COULD LEAST PUT SOME CLOTHES ON. WHEN YOU MAKE THE BIG TIMES, YOU GOT TO DEAL WITH THE PAIN THAT COMES WITH IT. THE MUSIC BUSINESS ISN’T A PRETTY SITUATION. IT’S RUTHLESS.
dumb bop
She said: “The word “nigga” causes so much debate in our community while the “nigga” behavior gets praised and worship. Let’s not.” Someone remind Nicki that she is signed to a record label called CashMoney where one of the CEOs has a red five point star tattooed on his head and got teardrops tatted on his face while in his forties. I’m not even going to bring up her lyrics that praise and worship nigga behavior. I like Nicki so I’m not trying to diss and she killed that song but who she think she is all of a sudden? Laurin Hill? Damn another black girl lost.
This whole issue is nonsense. This is why I had to stop listening to anything new dealing in Hip Hop. Here is a chick who has done everything in her power to change the way she looks to fit society’s mold and not to mention that it was initially paid for by someone else. Fake breast, Fake Ass, Fake Lips, Bleached Skin who sits and tells impressionable children (mostly little girls aka barbies) that listen to her music that its not ok to deal with a man that’s not balling out of control because he is nothing more than a “Lookin Ass Nigga” that will never get you anywhere in life. This is a woman trying her best to not look anything like a black woman degrading all the black men who are not balling out of control to the standard she sets in this song. Thats exactly why black people cant win out here. Black people spend their whole life downgrading each other instead of trying to lift one another up. Name one other genre of music that puts their own kind down. Yea thats right. You want to know why white people run the world because they employee puppets like Nicki Minaj to dumb down their own kind for pennies on the dollar and instead of having respect for ones self like the man portrayed in the cover of her single she sells out a buys a fake ass and calls herself a barbie. WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You might be making the situation bigger then it is. Now I can agree that changing her physical looks to fit the mold of what society says a sexy was not a good thing but when it comes down to the music? Nicki is not the first artist to put emphasis on money and materialism. She’s done it after a million rappers (and entertainers in general) before her have done it and all her songs dont carry the same message as Looking Ass Nigga. If your view of the whole hip hop culture is only based on what Nicki does and says then you should probably peep some other rappers. I dont think Nicki has a problem being a black woman and she also has songs that are just standard love songs. We cant blame Nicki for everybody else in society cause thats crazy. You talking bad about black people and talking about white people’s position in the world and why things are like this or that but the origins of why things are the way they are can be found in the pages of history long before Nicki or Hip Hop culture was even born. Now I can see maybe a point somewhere in there but you wording it as if Nicki Minaj is the source of all negativity in the world and thats not the case. I too have heard some of her songs and thought she shouldn’t be saying that where little kids can get it but just like there are “cons” to Nicki Minaj there are also some “pros” to having a a Nicki Minaj in hip hop as well. Maybe its no pros for people like us who never listen to her music but having a female keep that door open on a commercial level for whoever the next female rapper is gonna be is something the culture went without for a long time. Now if were gonna talk subject matter and lyrics then I think ALL rappers are probably guilty of saying some negative shit at one point or another but the truth is that rappers didnt not create the conditions of american society their were born into. If Nicki is still putting a bunch of materialistic messages in her music then its also because its alot of that mentality going on in society as well. Now I know people always like to say black people this and black people that as if black people are the source of everything negative but the truth is blacks people did not start out as materialistic people cause when black people got here they had no materials of luxury. So this kinda behavior of over indulgence and materialism came from seeing other people live that way and that too was before Hip Hop culture. If were gonna point out all that wrong with Hip Hop then its only fair to point out what is good about it and really Nicki was not just born successful. She got her own story like everybody else does and even though its alot of shit in her music that people may not agree with, its still alot of people taking positive elements from it as well so im just saying its not just cons but its also pros in there too.
Nicki is employed by Birdman.
the song is bullshit anyway. why do you think dudes lie about what they got? its because women look for unrealistic qualities of a man thanks to media and people like Nicki Minaj. she doesn’t give a fuck about Malcolm X.