Every time I check nappyafro’s stats, one of the most searched terms at the top of the list is always Nicki Minaj. What’s funny is that posts I did almost 2 years ago about Nicki still gets pretty decent traffic. Obviously she has something that draws people to her and seeing as she is probably on the brink of stardom, I want to share a story that many people on staff know about or people who know me personally always asks about (Personally, I don’t think it’s that good of a story but hey…).
I actually interviewed Nicki in May 2008 (This was before she officially signed to Young Money but was getting a heavy helping hand from Weezy). The reason behind me trying to get the interview was the now famous picture of her doing the even more famous Lil’ Kim pose for her Sucker Free Mixtape; I wanted to find out more about the girl who was getting so many comparisons to Lil’ Kim and was the attention matching the talent.
After a phone convo with her and her manager at the time Fendi, it was agreed that I send the questions via e-mail. Now let’s be clear here, I’d already posted and gave my thoughts on Nicki’s Sucker Free Mixtape almost a month before sending the questions or talking to Nicki or Fendi. I don’t really pull to many punches about my thoughts on music (When I give them), and I stated in the article:
“Even though she is not the rebirth of Ms. Hill, she’s young, she has sex appeal for the fellas, and has a co-sign from Wayne, and can at least recite rhymes. Don’t be surprised if she is leading the pack of females rappers sooner than you think”
Honestly, I still stand behind that whole statement. At the time, Nicki Minaj’s flow sounded like a female version of Lil’ Wayne which raised the question of some ghostwriting going on (Listen to their version of “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop”). It’s not a far-fetched question seeing that it’s been done before: Biggie did it for Lil’ Kim, Jay-Z & Nas did it for Foxy. I will say that in the current day her flow has improved and she has carved out a style of her own now (Controversy over whether the style is good or not is still being argued).
So after sending the questions and getting the responses, I thought the whole thing went good (We even got the obligatory shout out). After posting up the interview, I went ahead and sent Nicki & Fendi a link (Which is what your suppose to do). Then I got this e-mail response for her manger Fendi:
Just read the review on nicki’s mixtape. “Reciting rhymes” ???? If its one thing she does is write her own rhymes. She really prides herself on that actually. We’re really disappointed in u and ur site for putting that in the minds of potential fans. Its fine to critique and have an opinion but putting out false assumptions is whack. With a name like nappyafro we didn’t expect you to have the crab in the bucket syndrome. Now we know.
Thanks for your time.
Well I guess they didn’t read the previous articles or even check out the site before agreeing for the interview (Which would have been nice). I definitely don’t have “the crab in the bucket syndrome”. Now I know now that Nicki has parted ways with Fendi’s management but I guess I wanted to explain anytime you see King Jerm or Saule say “We still love you Nicki” or “All of us don’t hate you Nicki”, it’s a joke about this situation. I do think Nicki is the leading female rapper in the game (Which honestly isn’t saying much at this time), she has many females emulating her, and I do wish her all the luck in her career.
So now the story has been told.
And I still hold my breath for that second interview (I’m also still waiting for the nappyafro drop that was promised us too).