NICKI MINAJ SPEAKS ON RACISM, WHY MORE BLACK ARTISTS ARENT SPEAKING UP: Look What Happened to Kanye by Rebecca Macatee Wed., Dec. 31, 2014 7:18 AM PST In her new Rolling Stone interview, Nicki Minaj opens up about recent incidents of police violence against Black Americans, including the unpunished killing of Eric Garner. Its sickening, and Ive been reading so many people saying, Why are we surprised? Thats whats really sad: that we should somehow be used to being treated like animals, she tells the mag. Its gotten to the point where people feel like theres no accountability: If you are law enforcement and you do something to a Black person, you can get away with it. I feel like when Public Enemy were doing Fight the Power, we as a culture had more power—now it feels hopeless, Nicki tells Rolling Stone. People say, Why arent Black celebrities speaking out more? But look what happened to Kanye [West] when he spoke out. People told him to apologize to [George W.] Bush! Nicki, of course, is referring to the time in 2005 when Kanye went off-teleprompter during a telethon raising funds for Hurricane Katrina victims and vented about racism in the media before declaring, George Bush doesnt care about Black people. He was the unofficial spokesman for hip-hop, and he got torn apart, Nicki recalls. And like she says, Kanye did apologize to Bush, but it seemed to be on his own volition. In a 2005 Today interview, he admitted, in my moment of frustration, I didnt have the grounds to call him a racist, adding, we as human beings dont always choose the right words. Nicki, however, feels the aftermath of the 2005 had a quieting effect not just on Kanye, but on all Black artists. She tells Rolling Stone that recently, You havent heard him [Kanye] speaking about these last couple things, and its sad. Because how many times can you be made to feel horrible for caring about your people, she asks, before you say, F--k it, its not worth it, let me live my life because Im rich, and why should I give a f--k?
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:51:17 +0000
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