On Nicki Minaj Vs. Peter Rosenberg and Hip-Hop's Patriarchy Problem

This week, Nicki Minaj finally went on Peter Rosenberg’s show to clear the air about their dust-up at Summer Jam ’12. Rosenberg used Nicki’s single “Starships” as shorthand for everything shitty and poppy in hip-hop on stage at Summer Jam last year, a move which may or may not have prompted Nicki to bounce on the entire festival. This week, Nicki finally went on Rosenberg’s show to clear the air. (Not surprisingly, Summer Jam ’13 is this weekened.)

The interview is worth a listen. Rosenberg is apologetic and reasonable, even though it's clear that Nicki couldn’t give a shit. Although he leans on the bullshit excuse that he attacked her music and not her (ugh), he makes it clear that he was just naming what he deemed the poppiest, least “underground” hip-hop record he could think of. And, while citing Nicki’s past radio dominance as a rapper, he laments that she isn’t spending more time pushing that side of her career. Rosenberg acknowledges that the “real hip-hop” rap community can tend to box in what hip-hop can and cannot be, and wishes more women credibly rapped their asses off like Nicki does.

Of course, it’s not really a mystery why there aren’t more female emcees on Rosenberg’s radar. Even though it’s a great time to be a woman who raps, the hip-hop community still basically finds femininity alien, if not wildly threatening. And while that’s something that is (slowly) changing, that was the environment that raised Nicki, musically. She explains being into Cyndi Lauper and Madonna while growing up; even if she made her name as a hard-spitting chick with pink hair and fake nails, her creative interests outgrew what the small box of “real rap” could offer her.

I’m (finally) reading Dan Charnas’s really great The Big Payback, which tells the story of hip-hop’s rise to prominence by focusing on the business less than the music. Tales from the industry range from boring to infuriating, especially when reading about people getting screwed out of money, but Payback avoids this trap. Not only are the people behind the curtain often as famous as the rappers themselves (hi Russell Simmons), but the conflicting interests of Blacks, Whites, Jews, Italians, art, business, and the ever-shifting radio landscape depict hip-hop as a quintessentially American pursuit. But I just reached the late 80’s in Payback, when Juice Crew, BDP and Public Enemy brought the focus of rap back to the shittier parts of urban America with a Black nationalist angle.

Despite having a diverse team behind the movement, it’s a reminder that poor blacks (and other minorities) have a claim to the art and the largest stake in its integrity. It’s a voice, an outlet and, for better or worse, a public face. When Rosenberg (or anyone else) gets tight about the state of hip-hop, their concern is about preserving rap music as a relatively untainted product of “the streets,” as well as its potential to voice the community’s concerns. While this gets muddled by old dudes who don’t get the new generation, dudes in New York who hate the South no matter what, racism, reverse-racism, and good old fashioned exploitative marketing, it’s reasonable. I love 2 Chainz and Rick Ross, but I would also love to hear Bun B in heavy rotation spitting knowledge about the Prison Industrial Complex.

But the problem is hip-hop is a patriarchy and has been since day one. And if it’s a voice, it’s a largely male voice aimed at other dudes, while grabbing one’s own dick. This isn’t about the genre’s misogyny (perceived or otherwise), and it isn’t to discredit the many many talented female rappers. It’s about Onika Maraj singing “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” into her hairbrush at age 10 and then finding out later in life that she can get paid to do that too. One would assume that’s something Rosenberg isn’t really familiar with.

Skinny Friedman is a writer and DJ living in New York. He's on Twitter - @skinny412