Talk:Nicki Minaj

Mixtapes ??????

Can someone help me make a mixtape page for all her mixtapes

1flyguyrob (talk) 21:34, 10 October 2012 (UTC) make a mixtape page for all her mixtapes

You hey Nicki Ninaj You A BOSS — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.147.67.181 (talk) 23:32, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

Mariah and Obama controversy

This needs to be put under the contoversy section. U cant include these two in her Pink FridaY: Roman Reloaded section but then have a controversy section for the Summer Jam feud and the Lil Kim beef. Both topics received alot of media attention, and for the people saying I will be blocked are they adminstrators ?--1flyguyrob (talk) 20:28, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

One argument with Mariah Carey doesn't really warrant it's own section, futhermore, it would be unrealistic to document every single controversial lyric that Minaj has written or rapped. Both of these can be implemented in the 2011-present: Roman Reloaded... section quite nicely; something that does not fit into a specific time frame, like the Lil' Kim feud, needs its own section as it would not make sense spread across the Biography sections. As for the "Summer Jam incident" that perhaps could be implemented into the 2011-present: Roman Reloaded... section as well, although it may be too in-depth in its present form. Simply, these could do with inclusion, but not whole or separate sections, as they may seem relevant now, but perhaps not considering Minaj's whole career (see, WP:RECENTISM). Thanks. —Jennie | ☎ 20:52, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 18 October 2012

In the infobox where it saids years active it saids 2002–present, that is wrong and it should say 2007–present, because she released her first mixtape Playtime Is Over in 2007. 69.209.195.200 (talk) 18:26, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

 Done Thanks. —Jennie | ☎ 19:01, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

YMCMB

Is there some source about the collaboration album YMCMB?It says it's going to be released in 2012,but half of the year passed and it's still not released!--Nikinikolananov (talk) 18:01, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

Minor edit request

In the 2011-present section, there is a mention of Cassie with leads to a disambiguation page. The internal link should either be removed or fixed to a proper article.--Tallard (talk) 03:04, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

 Done Cassie Ventura is the link in question. I also reworked the sentence, as it was written awkwardly. —C.Fred (talk) 03:09, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

Birthday

She's born in 1982... so why mix it up? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.254.206.134 (talk) 01:14, 27 October 2012 (UTC)

Because we have one date that the artist and her mother claims, and another on a sworn police statement. As such, the dates have been major bones of contention. It was therefore decided under WP:CONSENSUS to include both. See the archives of this very talkpage for the extensive discussions (✉→BWilkins←✎) 10:21, 27 October 2012 (UTC)

Infobox image

An edit has ensued about the image for this article's infobox. My thoughts are as such: the image was uploaded to the WikiMedia Commons as being an "original work", licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 that allows the image to be freely used. Since the user that uploaded it does not seem to have an account or any proof whatsoever that they are a professional photographer that snapped photos of Nicki, I'm assuming this is a blatant lie. The image is probably owned by Getty Images and was illegally altered and uploaded to the Commons. This happens a lot. So, at present, the only high-quality photograph we have of Minaj is this one: File:Christopher Macsurak Nicki Minaj cropped.jpg. Having a recent image of the recording artist is desirable, but not necessary at all. Recently, the same issue has arisen on another article I watch-over: Kesha. I left this message on the talk page of the person who engaged in the image edit-war, that I hope some people find illuminating in regards to this, nearly identical situation, taken from this:

I understand that you would like to add a more recent picture of Kesha to her article. It makes to do so and would help us be more accurate in our encyclopedia entry on her, but the image you would like to use is copyrighted by Getty Images. Their copyright claim can be circumvented with a fair-use rationale, but I do not believe that we have sufficient grounds for justifying the use of their image. If we could come up with some sort of critical commentary that justified its inclusion, then I would encourage you to keep it there; unfortunately, we can't at this time. At present, we have a dozen or so (yes, they are outdated) images of Kesha that can be freely used without worry of possible legal trouble. Right now, updating the image to be the most recent possible is not the highest priority for that article either. I would recommend that checking Flickr routinely, until a free image of her shows up. I'm willing to bet, however, that a high quality image won't surface into her next tour, though. If you have any questions about fair use or copyright, I would recommend looking here: WP:COPYRIGHT and WP:FAIRUSE.

--Thevampireashlee (talk) 13:42, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

Well I think the photo should be used, I took into consideration, the other editor's desires for the picture to be included in the article and I did that by adding it into the article, but more recent pictures of Minaj are most likely more preferred, I mean we have a photo of her on the Femme Fatale Tour in the 2012 section and during that time, that tour was over. I think the newer picture should be used until the uploader is notified of the assumption of the photo not being under a free license so can, we agree on this ? --1flyguyrob (talk) 02:40, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

I disagree, unfortunately. Would you continue to drive a car that you suspected might be stolen? No. Because you could get in trouble for not reporting it. It's best to leave the image out of the article until we can prove that the license is legitimate. I'm going to flag the image as potential license laundering and see what becomes it. If you would like, head over to WP:FLICKR, open the external link, and type in "Nicki Minaj" to see if anything freely licensed shows up. An alternative might, indeed, exist. :) I do agree, conversely, that once we find a more recent photograph and that photograph shows her full face, head-on (as is preferable over one that's more recent, in my opinion), we should move the current infobox image down to the 2012 section of the article. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 02:51, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

I found this picture on Flickr, could we use this? http://www.flickr.com/photos/89587565@N08/8145878864/ --KaneZolanski (talk) 09:24, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Unfortunately, that one's not the right license. WP:FLICKR gives a basic run-through of which licenses are acceptable. Also, the image that you linked to is another instance of Flickr washing, meaning someone created a Flickr account just to upload and misrepresent copyrighted images. Back to the drawing board, I'm afraid. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 21:31, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

I keep looking for more pictures on Flickr but they either seem professional with no copyright, indicating signs of laundering, or just copyrighted pictures. Unfortunately it seems hard to find copyright free images of Minaj. --KaneZolanski (talk) 02:54, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

More images will likely arise when she fully embarks on her Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Tour. Tours are the best time to find freely licensed images. Patience :) --Thevampireashlee (talk) 22:47, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Electropop and synthpop musician

Recently, I have been helping populate the category Category:Synthpop musicians, after someone added it to an article I've been watching (Porcelain Black). Of course, Nicki Minaj was one of the first recording artist to come to mind when I thought "electropop" (and synthpop, which are exactly the same thing). That said, it appears that User:SnapSnap has removed the category to every article (s)he felt it did not apply. Normally, I dislike engaging in edit-wars of any kind, especially in regard to genres, but this is a bit unnecessary -- given that I am being asked to relinquish sources for something that is so obvious it hurts and that 90% of the other genres on every musician pages are completely unsourced. That said, what qualifies one as a synthpop/electropop musician? In my mind, having at least one prominent publication qualifies someone as a musician of that genres, but I've been basing the criteria on albums and singles. Someone like Madonna who has had electropop songs and albums since her first album, and people like Enrique Inglesias who has at least two electropop albums (Euphoria and Insomniac), are clear examples of artists that epitomize a genre, but in the case of Nicki Minaj, who has only had two studio albums published, it is not so clear. She is considered a hip hop artist, with only two albums and a mix. One of those albums is highly views as electropop, yet she is only considered hip hop. That sounds biased, and it sounds like we're giving undue weight. It should be clear that a large, large portion of her output is in the electropop genre, and not just from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Most notably, "Super Bass" is an electropop song and is her most successful song to date. That said, every single on her sophomoric album, aside from "Right by My Side" and "Beez in the Trap", is an electropop song. Almost all of them were highly successful on Billboard charts. The only hip hop songs Minaj seems to produce are those where she is a featured artist with other individuals as the primary artist. Otherwise, all of her prominent releases are electropop. Considering that this is not enough to justify considering her an electropop vocalist in the same vein as Lady Gaga and Kesha, there are multiple sources that either directly mention it or allude to it:

• http://popcrush.com/nicki-minaj-starships/
• http://www.printpiano.com/starships-nicki-minaj/
• http://popdust.com/2012/04/06/nicki-minaj-starships-today-show-lip-synch/
• http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2012/04/03/nicki-minaj-jennifer-lopez-morgan-page-new-pop-songs/
• http://www.billboard.com/#/column/the-juice/nicki-minaj-pink-friday-roman-reloaded-track-1006612752.story?utm_source=most_popular
• http://top40.about.com/od/singles/gr/Nicki-Minaj-Super-Bass.htm
• http://www.muumuse.com/2012/04/nicki-minaj-pink-friday-roman-reloaded-album-review.html/
• http://www.theboombox.com/2012/02/03/madonna-give-me-all-your-luvin-nicki-minaj-mia/
• http://www.theboombox.com/2012/04/09/nicki-minaj-young-forever-kelly-sheehan/
• http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pink-friday-20101122

Yet somehow she is still not an electropop artist? I want to know why? Is it simply that other editors don't like their favorite artists being called "electropop" or "synthpop" artists, because those artists tend to be viewed as untalented? What is it? And the most important question I have: should be list her as an electropop artist in the article? I say yes. Resoundingly yes. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 00:43, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

I think this comes from the idea that Genres on Wikipedia should remain general. A few songs on PF:RR such as "Whip It", "Pound the Alarm" and "Starships" are electropop, but the majority make up hip-hop, R&B and some ballad/pop. I think the input from some other editors would be useful in this decision and I would perhaps suggest you arise this again after the Re-Up has been released (when there is more idea of direction), but I think that the majority of editors would say that Genres should be kept general, and at the moment, both pop and electronic are listed. —Jennie | ☎ 11:05, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I fully agree now that general, in regards to genre, is preferable, instead of listing pages and pages of sub-genres. However, the original issue was that the Category:Synthpop musicians category was being removed because the article text did not specifically mention that she performed a significant number of synthpop (synonymous with electropop) songs. Since I believe the genre comprises the majority of her discography (at the very least a significant part), I advocate the inclusion of the category; however, if we remove mention of the her songs being in that genre, then other parties will have grounds for removing it. I believe the topic is significant enough (with a plethora of reliable journalism verifying) to be in the article. See the cycle yet? If we don't mention it, then the category will be removed, but it's significant enough to include. As it currently stands, the article has both the mentions of her work largely being in the electropop genre with matching categories. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 03:25, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Nicki Minaj names

On the Nicki Minaj infobox, it says also known as then it has some names. Nicki Minaj never actually used those names as her professional name so why is it on there? CPGirlAJ (talk) 02:05, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

I agree with your removal of them, because she hasn't used them professionally or released anything under those names. —C.Fred (talk) 12:56, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

These names were being passed off as aliases, but that is not quite the same thing as an alter ego -- the true nature of her Barbie and Zolanki personae. So you were very correct in removing them. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 22:49, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Thank you, plus I don't think those names were there before. CPGirlAJ (talk) 02:07, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

She is 27

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHhWeDA3l4U&feature=watch-vrec — Preceding unsigned comment added by Milkastracciacow (talk • contribs) 13:13, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Her personal statements are in direct contravention of her statements to police. As such, we include both dates/years (✉→BWilkins←✎) 13:59, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

I agree with Milkastracciacow, Ellen said she was 26 last year and Nicki didn't deny it. I know that the date that says she is 29 is what was there in the beginning, but still, she doesn't look that old. Plus, why would she lie and want people to know a fake age? CPGirlAJ (talk) 02:05, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

 Not done Someone "not looking that old" isn't a way of verifying someone's age. As explained above, we have conflicting sources for both dates/years and therefore provide both. As her 27th or 30th birthday comes around next month, it will be interesting to see if it is verified. —Jennie | ☎ 21:08, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

Agreed. Cher doesn't' look 66, but she is. Hilary Clinton doesn't look 65, but she is. Cher looks younger than Hilary, but she isn't. Proof and point. Looks can be deceiving. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 21:55, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

Look at her E! special the first one , and I remember it showed her in the 5th grade in 1993. Even though she has a December birthday she's either turning 29 this year or 30 this year. So someone's lying around here,... and when she tweets articles from her twitter they put age 29, and she never says anything about it, and her being so outspoken would've adressed the false information by now.--2602:306:CDFC:19D0:B831:A972:DB97:8377 (talk) 02:20, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

WP:SYNTH doesn't work on Wikipedia. We do know someone's lying, but there's proof both directions, so it needs to stay as it is until it's cleared up. (✉→BWilkins←✎) 09:15, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Then where is the source that says she is 29? CPGirlAJ (talk) 21:52, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

The redacted police department report provided on the main page, see Ref [#1], as well as:

• The Huffington Post
• MTV
• IMDb

As said in a notice at the top of this page, we have chosen to provide both birthdates until either can be contradicted, most hopefully, by Minaj herself. Thanks. —Jennie | ☎ 22:12, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

It doesn't matter what the truth is; it matters what notable media sources says her age is. Whatever the majority of the sources say about her age is what I think we should include in the article. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 00:29, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Still, I think we should go by the age Minaj stated herself, or agreed with. The sources you gave that stated she is 29 might be wrong. Like I said before, why would she lie about her age? CPGirlAJ (talk) 00:04, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

There are many reasons people lie about their age. There's a handful of women in my office who do it every day. This topic has gone through multiple discussions, including verification of the external sources. The current WP:CONSENSUS does appear to work best overall (✉→BWilkins←✎) 00:11, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Rapping technique

As I stated in the edit summary, I have changed the section titled "Rapping technique" under "Artistry" to "Musical style". Originally, the section was simply "Rapping technique" and has been so for quite some time. I altered the title to "Rapping technique and musical style" after expanding the section to include her foray into electronic (most notable electropop) genres. The inclusion was reverted back to the original state of simply "Rapping technique". I have since changed the title again to simply "Musical style" as I believe it is more appropriate. Reasoning: while I believe "Rapping technique" is succinct and eloquent, even brilliant, it is no longer wholly accurate for what the section contains. In order to optimize the coherency of the section, I recommend a slightly broader header title; simply, the section is no longer exclusively about rapping. Additionally, the phrasing "Musical style", when it comes to biographies of musicians seems to be the unspoken house trend around Wikipedia. For example, I have participated in writing a few good articles on musicians; two of them contain this title header, Porcelain Black and Kesha -- similar artists, both having adventures into electronic music and rapping coincidentally. That aside, other good articles including Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Madonna. Former good articles Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera contain it or manifestations of it. Featured article Janet Jackson and B-Class article Lana Del Rey incorporate it. Get my point? :) Arguments and accolades welcome. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 22:00, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Agree, although predominately a rapper, her movement into more genres of music and singing means that "Musical style" is more fitting. —Jennie | ☎ 22:19, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Expanding on what you said, Jennie, leaving it broad also opens up the opportunity for us to add more information (and more types of information) as time passes. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 22:39, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Maybe we should add a music videos and performance section under it too ? --2602:306:CDFC:19D0:4A8:EA82:71A2:4FA2 (talk) 22:37, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I definitely support this idea, should we find any reliable source that discuss the topic. Lady Gaga's article and Janet Jackson's article do this fairly well, I think. We could use them as examples (the articles, not the artists per se). --Thevampireashlee (talk) 22:39, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Looks like an attempt to forge a section about her music video artistry was made. Unfortunately, I reverted the additions for two reasons. First, 90% of the section was completely unsourced, making the claims possible original research (a gross violation of our policy on biographies). Second, the wording was very peacock-y, meaning the tone of the verbiage was not indifferent, unbiased, or objective, but instead served to promote the subject of the article, something that also highly contradicts what is permissible for a biography article. I understand that we all want the article to be as well-written as possible, while covering a vast array of topics, but there are stylistic guidelines we must adhere to. We cannot aim to make Minaj look good or convince other people that she is a desirable artist to listen to, but we can provide information about her and allow others to come to whatever conclusion they will. This is perhaps very difficult for one who is a fan of her work. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 03:31, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

I would like to add another comment on the matter of Minaj's music videos. Normally, I would myself embark on writing adding content to the article in regards to this, but I'm not quite sure where to begin. It does not appear that a wide selection of journalism exists on the subject of Minja's cinematography. I speculate that, because Minaj is still developing her artistic identity, she has not yet developed a concrete trademark that we could easily discern and write about. As evidenced by her first two albums, she seems to be experimenting with various genres, sounds, and vocal techniques, so it is no wonder that her ancillary music videos reflect that exploration. I'm curious to see if anyone has noticed any patterns or trends in the subject of her music videos. Someone like Lady Gaga or Lana Del Rey have very distinct cinematic styles for their videos. Both are quite gaudy and over the top, which may explain why more journalism exists about their videos than Minaj's; I don't mean to insult Minaj or devalue her as an artist, but I'm not sure she has a particular video style; her work, to be quite frank, is forgettable and I can't seem to find an underlying theme. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 03:44, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

I understand completely, and thank you for doing that because when I am critiqued it helps me become a better writer, and ever since I have started using Wikipedia I have been getting better grades in English. Anyways, back to the topic. There isn't much information on Minaj's videos, not as a whole, unless I find reviews from reliable sources who leave feedback from a single video. I want to add more to Nicki Minaj's wikipedia, not to promote her, but so a reader gathering information can have a complete idea of who Nicki Minaj is. I will try to do another article soon. --2602:306:CDFC:19D0:188E:FF84:A0CE:C3BD (talk) 03:48, 9 November 2012 (UTC)