Nicki Minaj Is Absolutely Fuming Over The Grammys' Decision About Her Music
Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" topped the charts after its release. According to HypeBeast, during the first week of the song's release, it had 21.1 million streams and 89,000 sold downloads. The song then reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Some people believe the hit song blurs the lines between the rap and pop genres. As Variety pointed out, Minaj doesn't sing a single word throughout the song, unlike her other hits such as "Super Bass" and "Starships." This would put "Super Freaky Girl" in the rap category. But the melody and the mixture of sounds from Rick James' 1981 hit "Super Freak" makes it sound more pop-like.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Recording Academy's rap committee — who determines which songs are considered an eligible rap song for the Grammy awards — "Super Freaky Girl" is a pop song due to the influence of the '80s Rick James hit. Because of this, a source told the media outlet that the committee decided Minaj's song should be in the best pop solo performance category, and the rapper is not happy about it.
Nicki Minaj thinks it's unfair that her song was moved to the pop category
In reaction to the decision to have "Super Freaky Girl" compete in a pop category at the Grammys, Nicki Minaj took to social media to express her disappointment. "If you can't tell by now that there is a concerted effort to give newer artists things that they really don't deserve over people who have been deserving for many years, then you're not paying attention," she stated in a 17-minute video posted to Instagram.
The rapper then took to Twitter to express her thoughts even more. "I have no prob being moved out the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY," she tweeted. Her frustrations come from the fact that she was the only female rapper in the category who got moved to the pop category. She claimed the move was unfair to her, and that if her song is moved, then Latto's "Big Energy" should move too.
Minaj has been open about being a female in the industry. "Female rappers weren't really charting at the time," she said in a voiceover in the trailer for her six-part documentary series. "I'm fighting for the girls who never thought they could win. They need rappers like me." The trailer then shows how the documentary will dive into Minaj's respect and love for the art of rap music, the hardships in the industry, as well as the treatment she gets as a woman rapper.