On Wednesday (July 31), Spotify unveiled its new “The Gold Standard” exhibit at a gallery in New York City. The installation features oil renaissance era oil paintings of top female rappers like Sexyy Red, Megan Thee Stallion, Latto, Flo Milli, Doja Cat, Ice Spice, and others, all from the steady hand of fine artist Manon Biernacki.
When the installation dropped, fans immediately pointed out Nicki Minaj’s absence from the roster of 11 women emcees portrayed in the exhibit. In a comment on a post from The Shaderoom, Summer Walker expressed, “I don’t even listen to hella Nicki because I am an R&B lover, but where is the Queen? Or Lil Kim at least, Missy Elliot.. This is mad disrespectful. This is why I made my music and go home this industry weird.”
But, as it turns out, Spotify was not at fault for Minaj’s absence. In a recently deleted post, the commissioned artist explained why the rapper was left out of the gallery. “Thank you so much for all of your support in this adventure, and to everyone who made this dream a reality! PS. Don’t come after me in my DMs; Nicki Minaj did not want to be a part of the show,” they wrote.
This has caused a divide amongst hip-hop fans as they battle it out to decide how people should feel about Minaj not wanting to be included. “She never wanna be a part of anything with other females. And that’s ok, and that’s why they don’t include her in shit, but then she cries when she’s not involved,” one fan noted. “But the way this is set up, why would she want to be? It’s NOT her generation,” another fan responded, acknowledging how most of the artists included in the activation were of a younger generation and had not been around as long as Minaj.
That said, the rapper has been vocal about her issues with the music streaming platform in the not-so-distant past. “Spotify ain’t gotta lie, they really streaming my music,” she rapped on “FTCU,” which appears on her latest album Pink Friday 2. So, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Minaj would turn down the opportunity to be featured in the streamer’s new exhibit.