Salon.com > Nicki Minaj

Performers announced for Billboard Awards

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:25:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nicki Minaj and her mentor, Lil Wayne, will join forces for a performance at the Billboard Music Awards, to be presented May 19 in Las Vegas.

Billboard announced additional performers Thursday. They include Chris Brown, Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, David Guetta, Akon, Ne-Yo and Icona Pop.

Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and fun. are finalists in 11 categories. Swift, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Rihanna and One Direction will compete for the top artist award.

Previously announced performers include Swift, Bieber, Bruno Mars, Miguel, Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez, Pitbull, The Band Perry and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Prince, who will receive the icon award, will also perform.

Tracy Morgan will host the awards, to air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on ABC.

“American Idol” catfight: Nicki and Mariah duke it out over “Mean Girls”!

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:41:00 +0000

It was just a little over 10 minutes into the new season of "American Idol,"its 12^th, when new judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj started bickering about “Mean Girls.” “I want to lose three pounds,” Mariah said, sitting at the judges table getting her hair and make up retouched. “I know how you can,” Nicki sassed back. “It’s a quote from 'Mean Girls.' If you knew 'Mean Girls' you would know,” Mariah countered. “I do know ‘Mean Girls,’” Nicki replied “Okay, who says ‘I want to lose three pounds?’ Which character?” Mariah asked. Incapable of leaving the bait untouched, Nicki tried, “Not Lindsay. The other one, with the blonde hair.” “What’s her name?” Mariah insisted. “You know something, Mariah …" Nicki began. Australian country star Keith Urban, the other new judge, pinched the bridge of his nose.

Nicki Minaj goes ballistic on Mariah Carey

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:03:00 +0000

So the rumors that rapper Nicki Minaj and fellow "American Idol" judge Mariah Carey are feuding are true. Last month producer Ryan Seacrest had to dismiss the speculation, saying on the "Today" show that "There are not too many dull moments between the two of them, but at the end of the day, we all hug and laugh and go home and get ready for another day. They get along fine, but they're strong and candid in their opinion."

Now, TMZ has footage of the two stars at each other's throats. Or at least, Minaj is at Carey's, according to the transcript:

Nicki Get this s**t in self control. Get in control. Get in control.
[American Idol judge] Randy [Jackson] Settle down, settle down
Nicki Don't lose your head. Don't lose your head (inaudible). Don't tell me I'm a gangster.
Nicki  (inaudible) every 5 minutes. So every time you patronize me, I'm-ma take it back, and if you've got a f**king problem, handle it.
Nicki  I told them I'm not f**kin' putting up with her f**king highness over there. Figure it the f**k out. Figure it out.
Nicki  I'm not gonna sit here every f**king minute to have you come down and harass me every minute everyday.

Three TV rumors we hope aren’t true

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 21:52:00 +0000

The network that's rolling out "Animal Practice," a show about veterinarians and a capuchin monkey named Crystal, may reinvent Thomas Edison as a crime-fighter. Deadline writes that "Edison" is "a new period crime drama project in the works at NBC":

In the show’s fictional storyline, Edison, already America’s greatest inventor, works as a secret consultant to the under-trained and under-equipped New York Police force. Edison, aka the original Tony Stark, uses his inventor instincts and retro-cool devices to deconstruct crime scenes and pioneer new technology. The period show is expected to have a modern sensibility, energy and tone evocative of the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes films. Connolly, Shibian, Johnson and Gran Via’s Melissa Bernstein are executive producing.

Dumb tweet of the day: Fabian’s endorsement

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:25:00 +0000

I really think that if American entertainers stopped endorsing him, Barack Obama would lose presidency. #Romney

— Fabian Pillay (@ThE_rEaL_fAbiAn) September 10, 2012

Obama “not sure” if Minaj endorsed Romney either

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:11:00 +0000

If Mitt Romney is hoping for a fundraiser with Nicki Minaj, he might want to hold his horses.

In an interview with Orlando radio station Power 953, President Obama laughed off the notion that Minaj was legitimately endorsing Mitt Romney because she sort of said so in a line of a Lil Wayne mix tape. "I'm not sure that's actually what happened," Obama said. "I think she had a song on there, a little rap that said that. But, she likes to play different characters. So I don't know what's going on there."

And remember, Obama likes to throw "Hip Hop BBQs," so he would know.

Here's the interview audio:

Nicki didn’t endorse Mitt

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:28:00 +0000

Dear News Consumers: Sometimes on Twitter or Facebook or whatever you come across a piece of surprising information that you wish to share with your friends. One step you should always take, first, is checking the source. The more surprising the headline, the more important it is that you make sure it didn't come from the Onion or "funnyjokenewz.biz" or "The Blaze" before you start spreading it around.

Now, apparently, we should add BuzzFeed to the list of suspect sources. The only explanations for this story are either a willful attempt to mislead in order to garner traffic or an unforgivably stupid misinterpretation that for some reason has not yet been updated or clarified. The post (you've probably seen it referenced elsewhere already) claims that rapper and pop star Nicki Minaj "is voting for Mitt Romney" and the proof is that she said so in one line, a line about how "lazy bitches are fucking up the economy," on a Lil Wayne mixtape. "I am not joking," says BuzzFeed editor Matt Stopera. But guess what, Nicki Minaj is.

Nicki Minaj’s retroactive feminism

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:08:00 +0000

Last month, Nicki Minaj was part of a dust-up that underscored how important the Queens-born rapper is to young women. At Hot 97's Summer Jam—arguably the most important arena concert in New York hip-hop—a white Hot 97 DJ by the name of Peter Rosenberg made some disparaging comments about her music while introducing another artist. "I know there are some chicks here waiting to sing 'Starships' later—I'm not talking to y'all right now. Fuck that bullshit. Bullshit. I'm here to talk about real hip-hop shit."

"Starships" is Minaj's latest number-one pop-techno hit, and to "real hip-hop" heads, Rosenberg was indicting the commercialization of rap. But to those of us who are "real hip-hop" heads, Nicki Minaj fans, and also "chicks" at the same time, Rosenberg's comments illustrated the gender divide in hip-hop that has made it so difficult for women rappers to ascend to the level of their male counterparts.