Nicki Minaj, honored at the Times 100 Gala as one of the most influential people in the world, says black women are held to a higher standard.
The rapper said, in a Times interview, that “black women are held to a higher standard. A lot of pop culture takes from black culture. And often times doesn’t really say they got it from black culture.”
“You have to get used to living in a world that doesn’t even acknowledge that you did certain things,” she said.
In the same interview she talked about how her mom never had a job where she was “the boss” and she decided a long time ago “whatever I do, one day, I want to be more in charge of my business.”
The performer is also a strong advocate for women and equal pay in the work place.
“One thing I learned along the way in business is the necessity for you to be unapologetic about asking for how much money you deserve,” she said. “At a very early stage in my rap career, I was making six figures for shows…If I heard there was another rapper making that, I thought, ‘you know what? I get out there and demand or command a crowd.”
“I get out there and make my fans happy. I get out there and give a real show,” she added. “I want that, too.’ And I pushed myself to be better with my showmanship, but I also decided, you know what? I want to be compensated well.”
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