Nicki Minaj is constantly in the headlines. As the “Queen of Rap,” that is expected. Minaj has an extremely long list of accolades and accomplishments firmly seating her as the most successful in her genre. With the success, fame, and influence acquired by such a position, Nicki Minaj faces a level of scrutiny that I have not witnessed with other artists. Recently due to her political affiliations she has come under fire. Many question her political motives. My question to the public is, have you spoken up about the injustices that happened to the community, they claim she has betrayed? In this article we are going to examine the hypocrisy in news media. Nicki Minaj spoke up for and advocated for victims when the industry was scared too.

The way that media works, particularly news media, is in “networks.” Brands typically work together in network to maximize reach and messaging. Sometimes one brand owns multiple brands. In our current news media environment, the most consolidated that it has ever been, the same narratives are pushed across hundreds of news outlets, sometimes dozens being owned by the same company. This uniform messaging across platforms, and across the country, is how news organizations establish “narrative.” Concentrated ownership does not mean every journalist receives instructions to repeat the same message. But modern media ecosystems can amplify the same framing across hundreds of outlets until an interpretation begins to function as accepted fact. The way that most people consume media, and due to our ability to process only so much information, we rely on narratives to shortcut thinking, in a natural way to simplify our lives. When the reporting is true and/or accurate, narratives help people stay in tune with the relevant details of the story. When the reporting is untrue or inaccurate, it creates situations where lies, disinformation, and misinformation run rampant. Due to her level of success and fame, Nicki Minaj constantly has narratives pushed about her in media. As someone who has worked in media for over 12 years, specifically exposing corruption, my urge to Americans is to look at the hypocrisy.

When innocent Americans were being killed and people were standing up, some of the same people who were the first to criticize Nicki Minaj for her current political affiliations were working with the very people sabotaging, stealing from, and mocking the related issues. Somehow Jay-Z was dubbed a “Black Leader,” and Nicki Minaj has been deemed the opposite. Nicki Minaj spoke up on the injustices happening to our community, and her and her fanbase supported victims. Jay-Z, Roc Nation, Charlamagne the Kid, Deray McKesson, Patrisse Cullors, and many politicians supposed to represent us, were actively supporting the “organization,” defrauding, stealing from, sabotaging, and mocking our community.

When the greatest injustice that I have ever witnessed happened to our community in our lifetime, Black Lives Matter, Nicki Minaj was on the side of our community and justice, and many of those who have been critical of her were scared to speak up or outright lied.

Nicki Minaj spoke up about the injustices happening in the music industry, the country, and to the Black community, did you?

Having not spoken to Nicki to get her exact thoughts, I can only use her interviews and words to determine her reasoning for her affiliations. With that said, I have personally experienced the hate, criminal acts, and abuses of “the left,” and I was someone who had helped progress many of their causes. Socially I am liberal.

As the true political landscape of this country becomes clearer, and people start to discover the relationships within networks, I think more people will understand why she may not have felt comfortable with a network of people who were doing her harm. Dealing with 1 or 2 people is one thing, dealing with a few people is another, but dealing with an entire network of people trying to sabotage you and your career is something that very few overcome. Throughout history the biggest names have been taken down by media.

My question for the public is simple from the perspective of a victim. Nicki Minaj spoke up about the injustices plaguing our country, did you?