Fans of Nicki Minaj have known she’s into women – it’s apparent from her suggestive lyrics, the gaze she gives females in music videos and her lesbian-positive Twitter action. However, she hadn’t given a public comment to the press regarding her sexuality until this month’s Details magazine. Here are snippets from the interview.
Details: You sign your fans’ breasts at shows. Do their boyfriends get jealous? Nicki Minaj: If anything, boys are telling me to sign their girls’ boobs. I’ve gone through 15 markers in a single night-because the girls are usually sweating, and a marker will stop writing if the girls are wet.She didn’t say much about herself, but her accepting the remark of being openly bisexual is acknowledment enough to begin with. (Believe me – I’m trying to get an interview to ask more!) If you are unfamiliar with Minaj, you should know that her being openly bisexual is a great thing for gay visibility. Nicki is part of Young Money Entertainment, Lil’ Wayne’s record label under the Universal Motown umbrella. She is a talented MC that has guested on hit songs for Robin Thicke, Usher, Ludacris and on several Young Money tracks.D: As an openly bisexual rapper, do you think hip-hop is getting more gay-friendly? NM: I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it’s harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced. People view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we’ll see one in my lifetime.
D: Have you seen the YouTube video where Michelle Trachtenberg raps one of your verses? NM: She’s the cutest thing. I just wanted to reach into the computer and kiss her. I might have to get her on a track.
She is readying the highly-anticipated release of her debut album on Young Money, and is the only mainstream female MC on the Billboard charts and MTV right now. She was set to tour with Rihanna this summer, but had to pull out to finish work on her album. She just debuted the video for her single “Massive Attack” and BET aired the special I Am Nicki to high ratings. Nicki can be very sexually explicit in her lyrics, which gives some critics pause and some feminists shaking their heads at their perceived misogynistic undertones, but I find Nicki a breath of fresh air in Top 40 radio and the music industry at large. She is poised to become a star on Lady Gaga‘s level and the fact that the two biggest women in pop are out and proud bisexuals will show middle America (and elsewhere) that it’s completely normal and OK to be something other than straight.
Kudos to Nicki Minaj for talking honestly about her sexuality and not being afraid to sign some breasts.
