I don't duck nobody but tape.
-Nicki Minaj
Her name is not Nicole. Nope. And I originally was not a fan- like not at all. But to my surprise she grew on me. I'm not even sure when it happened. Kind of like a cold, you don't always know how or when you caught it, all you know is now you need some DayQuil. The above lyric is from the song Only which is a single off the album The Pinkprint by Nicki Minaj. In a male dominated, old boys club, from the locker room to the boardroom society like the one we love in, I like the idea of a Pinkprint as opposed to a blueprint. Even though I use the latter term to discuss God's promises and our path to purpose, Nicki's take on it is cool.
As you can see we're at an intersection already. I'm a Minister and Coach. That's what I lead with when introducing myself and I live my life a certain way as a Christian. My goal is always to be pleasing to God and lead other people to God. I'm sure the question is raised in your mind , "But you listen to secular music?" The answer is yes I do, in moderation. Some of this new crap is exactly that- CRAP, but every now and then a beat will catch me and make me listen closer and when I do I sometimes find a gem. This is probably how the tide began to turn for me and Nicki.
In the beginning I was super turned off by her name. The prude that lives in the dusty corner of my brain was like, "she couldn't come up with anything better than that?" and "do we need more of that?" At some point due to the urging of a friend I Iistened to her. I listened and I heard talent. I heard a clever storyteller and I was intrigued. I love the creativity in her work. I love that she travels unexpected roads even when borrowing from other greats like Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, and MC Lyte. Like myself, this girl goes hard. She has proven that she can hang with the best of the boys, girls, anybody. Hip hop heads have ranked some of her bars (a rapper's lyrics) as some of the all time best.
Now that I think of it I'm not sure where I was when I first heard Only, probably in my car. And I have to tell you I enjoyed the hook as much as this line. The call out to the Real and the Bad and the Rich and the Independent made me bop my head and move my shoulders. It made me say YES!! The way she sets up the lyric that's the subject of this post is no different- she's in sexy beast mode. These bars Nicki is dropping are super raunchy and equally hilarious, but the line about not being afraid of anyone, not hiding from anyone spoke to me in a certain way. I'm here for it.
I'm here for the empowering idea that it's nobody's business how I do business nor who I do it with. The message that as a woman I'm in control of my own body, how it looks and what it does is a message that resounds with women all over the globe- old, young, prude, party girl, church girl, or corporate girl. We need to feel that. And men need to feel it too. So maybe if it's wrapped up in a sexy package they will open up and receive. ATB
