By now you most likely have heard about the controversy surrounding Nicki Minaj’s usage of Malcolm X’s photo to promote her new single “Looking Ass N1%%A”.
Associated Press reports:
Malcolm X’s family and estate said Nicki Minaj’s use of a famous photo of the black nationalist with a rifle in his hands and juxtaposing it with a racial slur for her new song’s artwork is disrespectful and offensive.
Mark Roesler, CEO of CMG Worldwide — which is the business representative for the Malcolm X estate — called Minaj’s use of the photo “dehumanizing.”
“This is a family photo that was taken out of context in a totally inaccurate and tasteless way,” said his statement on behalf of the family.
Soon after the release of the photo and the backlash on line, Nicki Minaj issued an apology.
ABC reports:
Nicki Minaj apologized for using a well-known image of Malcom X holding a rifle alongside a racial slur to promote her new album, “Lookin A** N****,” after outrage swept the web.
The 31-year-old rapper and singer deleted the picture of the album art she had posted to her Instagram account saying that the artwork featuring the civil rights activist was not meant to “undermine his efforts and legacy.” Minaj said the single cover was “never the official artwork.”
This recent incident with Nicki reminds us of the controversy that stirred up last year when her label mate, Lil Wayne, nonchalantly made a reference to Emmett Till in his rap song and soon after apologized to Till’s family for the insensitive, distasteful reference in his lyrics.
Are rappers today so far removed from or unaware of the history, the pain and the struggle that many people of color experienced, that only by offending a family will they learn that it is ‘distasteful’ to reference it for entertainment purposes? Who’s to blame?
Documentarian, Janks Morton recently released this short video
“Malcolm X Responds To Nicki Minaj” addressing that very question.
Check It Out Below!
