THE NICKI MINAJ HATE TRAIN, AND WHY WE SHOULD LEAVE THIS TREND ON

THE TRAIN STATION

By: Nathan E. Talosig 11-Faithfulness

Princess Diana once said, “I think every strong woman in history has had to walk down a
similar path and I think it’s the strength that causes the confusion and the fear: Why is she
strong? Where did she get it from? Where is she taking it? Where is she going to use it? Why do
the public still support her?” It is no secret that the world we live in, for the longest time,
revolved around men. Men were powerful, strong, brave, and outspoken, whilst women were
caring, nice, timid and polite. This was the box society has placed both genders. But when a
woman dares to be powerful and outspoken, personality traits assigned to men, that woman will
be scrutinized. People are going to find a way to somehow discredit that woman’s achievements.
Such was the case for my favorite artist and role model in life, Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj is the
best-selling female rapper of all time. She has the 2nd most entries on the Billboard Hot 100,
behind Taylor Swift. She recently just got two No. 1’s on the Billboard Hot 100, with her remix
on Say So with Doja Cat and her collaboration with 6ix9ne on TROLLZ. Her memorable verses
on songs are continued to be quoted and used in pop culture. Her versatility and brilliance in
creating bars literally birthed an entire generation of female rap. Nicki Minaj has achieved so
much in her career that I would go as far as to say that she is a legend. Yet somehow, she was the
subject to one of the most persistent and defamatory hate trains any artist has ever experienced.
The general public, who once loved Nicki, was now switching and turning against her. Radio
stations and streaming services blackballed her from getting radio play and playlisting. Countless
other artists and celebrities joined the Nicki Hate Bandwagon. It seemed like the entire world
was against Nicki Minaj. And what’s worse is Nicki received this immense amount of hate for
the most dense and moronic reasonings. The hate and disrespect Nicki Minaj received during
2018-2019, and even arguably during her entire career, though unnecessary and undeserved, was
predictable as every strong woman in history had to walk down a similar path: a path of hate,
doubt and questioning. This peculiarity against strong women highlights how society villainizes
and diminishes the achievements of successful women because of their disdain and fear towards
women who wields any sort of power.
 Most people trace the origin of the Nicki hate train back in February 25, 2017, when
Remy Ma released shEther, a nearly 7-minute diss track that directly calls out Nicki. Though
Nicki won in the end, considering she is still the most streamed and best-selling female rapper in
2020, the damage was already done. ShEther did what it was supposed to do, to dent the Nicki
Minaj armor and show to everyone she isn’t as strong as she is perceived to be. Note that prior to
this, from the start of Nicki’s commercial debut up to 2017, Nicki Minaj was the only female
rapper who was selling, which made her unstoppable and she was everywhere. She was at the top
of the charts with either her own single or a feature. After shEther dropped, a certain record label
pushed one of their new artists, Cardi B up to the top of the charts and that artist received a No. 1
hit, something Nicki was clowned for not having up to that point. The Nicki hate train wasn’t
started because of a personal agenda against Nicki, but rather because of a wider agenda fueled
by politics in the music industry, money and the throne for female rap. For a very long time,
Nicki Minaj has had complete market share of female rap and female rap was centered towards
her as she was the only female rapper who was consistently topping the charts, and this is partly
one of the reasons why the Nicki hate train started because these music labels were not going to
let a black girl have any sort of power and they wanted a piece of the female rap pie. Also, Hip-
hop has always been a male-dominated industry and they had this unwritten rule that there can
only be one successful female rapper at any time. This has led to female rappers being pitted
against each other for the basic reason that both women are successful. This reveals that the
Nicki hate train was not just a reputation issue; streaming services and radio stations were
blackballing Nicki from playlisting and radio play of her songs, which led to her notorious
freefall from the charts. Though the Nicki hate train was started by the music industry, it really
only tipped an already brewing relationship between Nicki Minaj and the general public. For her
entire career, the general public was perpetuating the rumor that Nicki has a ghostwriter write her
raps, which is really damaging to Nicki considering she has always advocated that she wrote her
own raps, even back in her mixtape days. Over the past few years, her music (which has been
marked by a string of subpar singles and features) has been overshadowed by controversies. The
infamous feud with Cardi B spanned several months and ultimately ended in a violent
confrontation at a major New York Fashion Week event. On her Beats 1 show, Queen Radio, she
also waged a war against industry executives and artists, which damaged her relationships and
her public perception. The average hip-hop fan has been slowly turning against her for years
(McKinney, 2019). Her collaboration with 6ix9ine entitled Fefe, though it was a smash hit,
caused quite a controversy for Nicki, as she was called out for collaborating with 6ix9ine after he
admitted to having sexual relations with a 13-year-old. When Nicki released Queen, it debuted at
#2 with 185,000 units, which was still amazing numbers but Nicki felt like her album deserved
the #1 spot, which was occupied by Travis Scott’s album. Travis Scott and his team utilized
merch bundles to boost his album sales, which Nicki felt was unfair. Nicki spoke out about this
but the general public just called her bitter. With the countless amounts of hate she is getting,
Nicki needed a release, so she created Queen Radio, a radio show wherein Nicki talks about
whatever she wants. This caused more controversy towards Nicki as she was being called out for
being too outspoken. Nicki was also hit with ageist comments, as she was criticized for being 35
(at the time) and is still openly sexual in her music. She is also somehow being dragged for her
brother being convicted of sexual assault against a child and her husband having a rape charge
when he was 16. She just can’t seem to catch a break. Luckily, Nicki has been able to climb out
of this hate train and come back stronger than ever. As I said earlier, Nicki got two No. 1’s on
the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2020 and has been getting a ton of love. She just gave birth in
2020 and is now a mother. Personally, I am so glad that Nicki got out of the hate train and is now
possibly repeaking in her career, 10 years after her debut.

Nicki Minaj is not the only woman who has received a hate train. Janet Jackson had her
career stripped from her because of the infamous NippleGate. Taylor Swift was made out to be a
liar by Kanye West and the Kardashians. Madonna was scrutinized for unapologetically
embracing sex with Erotica. And even other countless women, who though have not experienced
a hate train, is still being criticized for every small detail they deem is wrong. Nicki Minaj is
unapologetically outspoken about stuff she feels are going around her, and when a woman is
unapologetically outspoken, it disorients people. Why is she so outspoken? That is why rather
than listening to her, they paint this narrative of her being the “bad guy” and they place this
stereotype of “angry black woman” unto Nicki. This Nicki Hate Train perfectly reflects society’s
views on women. At first, everyone will love you, when you’re shiny and new. But as you get
older, you get tossed aside and deemed as undesirable. When a man speaks about an injustice he
experienced, he’s brave but when a woman speaks up, she needs to shut her mouth. When a man
is assertive, he’s a boss. There is no negative connotations to being a boss. But when woman is
assertive, she’s a b*tch. And there’s a lot of negative connotations to that word. People love to
discredit a woman’s achievements instead of acknowledging it. Nicki Minaj didn’t deserve any
of the hate. She’s not a perfect person, but that’s what we always forget as a society. These
celebrities are still people, whether how unattainable they may seem. We need to stop pinning
the actions of men unto Nicki and start respecting her name. The simple truth is, Nicki Minaj is
not going anywhere. She has established herself in pop culture and she will always be
remembered for her talent. Not to mention her fans, the barbz, will go hard for her. Let me end
this essay by quoting a Nicki Minaj song called Still I Rise, which she wrote back in 2008 before
she became famous, “Still I rise, still I fight, still I might crack a smile, keep my eyes on the
prize, see my haters, tell ‘em hi. One day you’ll remember this, one day when we reminisce,
nothing I do ever is good enough for the music biz.”