The world knows that Nicki Minaj’s ex-boyfriend Safaree Samuels is Jamaican. They also know that the Trinidadian rapper has done songs with many Jamaicans like Beenie Man, Gyptian, Mavado and Sean Kingston. She also incorporate a little dancehall reggae in some of her songs. Yet, apart from admitting she was born in Trinidad, she does not embrace that country in her music. Well, Trinidadians have had enough and many of them are beginning to distance themselves from the rapper.
From way back in 2015, Trinidadians started hating on Nicki Minaj after her performance on the MTV Video Music Awards. They were upset about the rapper’s performance, with many stating that the entertainer failed to give an authentic reflection of Trinidad’s culture, and instead represented Jamaica and its culture.
Even though Nicki Minaj performed her single, Trini Dem Girls, in tribute to the island of her birth, decked out in full carnival gear and clearly in a patriotic mood, Trinidadians weren’t and they made their distaste evident. Following that performance, the rapper shared a post from Vogue magazine’s Instagram page which showed a still shot from her stint onstage with the caption, “All in honor of my beautiful country, Trinidad”.
But shortly after making the post, the criticisms started pouring in, with many bashing the artiste for performing the song in what they called a ‘Jamaican accent’ rather than a ‘Trini’ one. After analyzing her whole performance, social-media users said the only cultural aspect Nicki Minaj managed to get right in her performance was the costuming.
“The only thing Trinidadian about that performance was the costume, nothing else was, with your fake ass Jamaican accent,” read one post.
“You can’t even call yourself a Trini,” it continued.
Another user said, “Nicki, I love you, but why you sang the song in a Jamaican accent, though? Every thing was wrong but the costume.”R
Nicki Minaj was also criticized for representing Jamaica more than her birth country, with social-media users using her collaborations with several Jamaican artistes as example. One user said, “she did songs with Beenie, Mavado and Gyptian, but can’t do a song with Machel or Bunji yet. She is no Trini.”
Some users tried to come to the Anaconda singer’s defense by stating that mentioning Trinidad as her home country is enough representing, but they, too, came under heavy criticism.
“For those who are going to call me a hater or ungrateful because she put us on the map just by mentioning us, you should have a lil more dignity and stop putting a price on your name,” said one user.
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