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Tuesday, July 3rd 2012

Will.i.am Defends Nicki Minaj Against ‘Unhealthy Hip Hop’

Nicki Minaj ThatGJuicedotnet Will.i.am Defends Nicki Minaj Against Unhealthy Hip Hop

In what has seen the culture billed as narrow minded, Hip Hop’s response to Nicki Minaj’s ascent to Pop stardom has been ‘harsh’ to say the least.

Labelled a sell out following the success of her quadruple platinum single ‘Super Bass’ and the 5x platinum ‘Starships‘, the Rapper recently faced threats by Hot 97 staple ‘Funkmaster Flex’ who threatened to ‘tear her down’ after mocking the sales of her now platinum sophomore album.

Now, ‘The Voice‘s Will.i.am has spoken out her in defense, urging her to ‘Fxxx Hip Hop‘.

Full story below…

Speaking to Vibe Magazine, he explained:

I’m proud of Nicki.

Hip-Hop was broadening itself in the ‘90s.

You had A Tribe Called Quest and Death Row…you had Lauryn Hill singing and rapping. You had Too Short, Outkast, Nas and the Roots. Hip-Hop was broadening itself.

Now hip-hop is limiting itself. If hip-hop is going to continue to limit people I say ‘Fuck hip-hop.’ It’s like the most unhealthiest community.

No lies were told here.

Though it may hurt to admit it, it does have to be said… Hip Hop can at times be a little stoic in its perception of success.

For, while a blind eye is turned to the legal woes of many of its staples, it’s the law abiding Nicki Minaj  that comes under fire from embracing a genre she has always toyed with.

Perhaps Hip Hop’s biggest issue with Ms.Minaj is that she unashamedly ‘organized’ in a genre which thrives on chaos, long  lasting feuds and superficial wealth.

A culture, which believes to be ‘real’ is to stick to one genre for one’s entire career, even at the expense of one’s brand and creative growth.

A culture, which applauds Lil Kim for ‘taking one for Hip Hop‘ but will blast and belittle Nicki Minaj for being the first Female MC to land her own set at the Grammy awards.

So, what do you think?

Do you agree with Will? 

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121 Comments

121 COMMENTS

  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +25
    Frachella

    July 3, 2012 at 12:57 pm

    Nicki can get away with the pop stuff she does pink hair, crazy shit etc, because her flow is so sick. She can go to to toe with half of the male and female rappers out there, this bitch straight spits yrical venom. I almost wish Eminem would attack her so she could tear him to shreds.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +9
    Tay

    July 3, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    Couldnt have said it better myself. By saying nicki came out as a rapper and thats what she should only do, thats not right. Thats almost basically saying if someone wrks at a fast food place they should just stay wrking their. Everyone can grow and do what they wont.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -6
    truth

    July 3, 2012 at 1:01 pm

    and WHO the fuck is he?? he sound bout as STUPID as that little bitch dahotnig…i mean dahotWHORE! she’s a fuckn FLOOOOP and will i am gay needs to stfu.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +14
    Benron

    July 3, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    BullShit.

    She is using Hip-hop as a stepping stool and they’re not having it. After making an album with more pop songs than anything else, an interviewer called it a great pop album and she became so offended and bit the womens head off. She is trying to switch over to Pop without anybody knowing.

    But since this is so obvious she and her fans try to villianize Hip-Hop music as a whole because they are telling her she is not hip Hop anymore. She refuses to admit she wants to do BOTH and so they will not except her doing both, the end!

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +6
    truth

    July 3, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    and samantha girl why don’t you post when Kim’s peps say the same or better about her u bitch!! i wwwisssh i coud just smack the fuck outta you for shading Kim.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +5
    Jay J

    July 3, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    Nicki Minaj is an ARTIST. Artists are CREATIVE. You people act like people can’t be multi-talented. It’s amazing how you say she’s needs to stick to rapping, yet she was singing on her mix tapes! Get the over the fact that Nicki is a GAME CHANGER for female hip-hop artists. You can’t call somebody a flop who has sold out international shows. If she was a flop, she wouldn’t even have a 2nd album, let alone a tour. If you don’t like Nicki, just don’t like her, but what you CAN’T do is change her.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +9
    BLACK

    July 3, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    I really don’t care about Nicki’s pop or hip hop status. What I do care about is her ability to be a responsible artist. Yolanda Adams said it best when she said that our young people see and hear what you do cause your voice as an artist is so loud. As soon as Yolanda left the stage after those inspiring comments, Nikki wins an award I think for best female Hip Hop Artist. What does she do as she left the stage, makes some vulgar statement to the crowd that could not be aired on TV. She did that right after Yolanda spoke about responsibility and even worst in front of the Reverence Sharpton. So I say to you Ms.i Minaj, people look up to you, don’t be an irresponsible role model.

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  • July 3, 2012 at 1:22 pm

    I feel him

    Merril Owns Feat. Ryan Anthony – Murder http://youtu.be/Q9TAC6rbT04

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +7
    NATURALBEAUTY

    July 3, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    I’ve always said that if music genres were put into political categories Hip Hop would be the Republican conservatives of the bunch. I love Nicki & nothing will ever change that, she may not be too “Hip Hop” for some but I love her music & that’s it.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +9
    virtuoso intellect

    July 3, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    she can do whatever she wants, just dont call it hiphop if it aint that, it’s annoyin to real hip hop fans when bloggers like tgj say things like starships is the first rap record to do blah blah blah when the song is NOT HIP HOP.

    Besides she’s not the first to branch out, Eve, Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill all put their spin on the game without spitting on the craft that brought them fame. Endorsement, tv, films, crossover, fashion … Nicki is not the first femcee to do any of those. She and her people really need to can it, in the grand scheme of things, 2, 3 years of winning is nothing to make noise about. Just thank God for your blessings and keep it moving. The buzz can simmer down just as fast as it got heated up

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +3
    Seth

    July 3, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    I agree with Will 100%!! Nicki’s doing her thing. In order to be the most successful, you have to be willing to be the most hated also. Props to Will & Nicki

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +6
    Irony

    July 3, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    @Truth girl why so bitter? Someone defends Nicki & they’re a fag? As if you’re any better than the woman you criticize.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +2
    JER

    July 3, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    will i was can have all the seats i’m so sick of him. Like he is one to talk about hip-hop his sold out ass fucking Fergie’s meth pussy i CANTTTTTTT I CANT. He’s just mad he never had a hit single on his own, he always needed Fergie. He’s just trying to cover his own ass which has been criticized for being entirely pop and not even hip-hop. Williamina can sit HER ass down in a studio somewhere and keep producing, quit tying to be the star and sit yo ass down in a booth somewheres.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +19
    ASAP (As Sincere As Possible)

    July 3, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    I’m not surprised. Will.i.Am is one of the producers who contributed to altering and destroying urban radio and as a result real progressive hip hop is still to this day left out of the playlists and replaced by easy catchy hits with silly punclines, much like he’s been finding success for th past few years. Of course he would defend Nicki. She’s just like him. She started her career talking about how real and hardcore she is just to run to David Guetta and pop radio for mass appeal afterwards.

    Anyway, the problem with Nicki is not that she’s denying to “limit herself”. Her problem is that she’s trying to work 3 sounds at the same time and she fails at all 3. She is doing pop, r ‘n’b’ and rap at the same time and her rap music, which is supposed to be her forte, has declined in quality, thus staying overshadowed by her pop tracks.

    Nicki is talented, though, so I hope she gets herself an identity. It’s nice to play around in the beginning of a career, but if she wants to brag about being the queen, she needs to pick a genre of music that she wants to be the queen of.

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      virtuoso intellect

      July 3, 2012 at 1:38 pm

      damn right, Will is the devil

      SN: i use “devil” in context

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    • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment
      Raz @RomanAZolanski

      July 3, 2012 at 2:22 pm

      She NEVER said she was hardcore. She has many videos where she has spoke about how shw was staying away from that and that she doesn’t want to rap like a dude. She does more than one genre and she will continue to. And she is successful in everything. Check billboard.

      Raz

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      • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment
        ASAP (As Sincere As Possible)

        July 3, 2012 at 2:31 pm

        Check out all her mixtapes and you’ll see she was acting all hardcore. You probably don’t know her well enough. She had a song called ‘Itty Bitty Piggy’ and she said “I’m a bad bitch” 20 times in that song! An that’s not the only example.

        As far as her success goes, she’s successful in the pop charts and in the Hot 100 only when she releases a pop track. Both her urban singles have failed to impress. Besides, I made a point about critical acclaim, not necessarily commercial success.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -14
    White girl mob

    July 3, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    Would ya negros shut the fuck up about some Barbie as Kim clone clown bitch. Who gives a fuck about sicki Minaj the bitch is a fucking broke ass bitch. I’m getting tired of n****s disrespecting kreayshawn one of the greatest female rappers since lil Kim!

    I tired of TGJ not posting on kreayshawn ya always talking bout sicki Minaj, Madonna old ass, lady gaga who wants to look like kreayshawn.

    Ya n****s better show some respect for next rap bitch who will run the rap game and sell 435,000 copies of her album the first week!

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +17
    Sinclare

    July 3, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    -_- This, coming from the man who made songs like ‘My humps”, you can’t seriously expect people to take his comment seriously. I mean to call a culture unhealthy because most of the people involved in it take it seriously and try to preserve it is completely ignorant to say. Now what he and most people such as the writer of this page fail to understand is that Rap and Hip hop are not the same thing. Hip hop is a whole culture. Rap is an art and an element of Hip hop. People like Nicki Minaj are not disgracing and offending Hip hop as a whole. She like many others are disgracing, offending, and destroying the great art of Rap which is why people are upset with her. Rap is supposed to be like a form of protest and to show your good and clever use of wordplay. It must come from the heart. A so called rap artist must not be superficial and have hidden agendas like money/fame (etc). It seeps through the record. A keen ear can feel this. Lastly, why does this website always feel the need to bring up Lil kim every time there is something about Nicki Minaj or vice versa? It’s very unnecessary and uncalled for.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +14
    Auntie_Jackie

    July 3, 2012 at 2:08 pm

    I’m sorry, but broadening itself is one thing, but auto-tuning itself beyond recognition is another. If Hip-Hop is so unhealthy, then don’t be a fucking rapper. Be a singer. Oh, that’s right, neither one of them can actually sing. Hip-Hop in the 90′s was experimenting, how DARE he EVER bring up the GODS Lauryn Hill, The Roots and Outkast in the same breath as himself or Nicki Minaj.

    No, sir, FUCK YOU!

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +4
    gio88

    July 3, 2012 at 2:23 pm

    the problem with nicki minaj is that she is becomeing one of 100000 popstars that does the same crap Music , just to become popular and have money , one thing is experimenting others genres , another is doing another genre just to sell more copies,…you lost credibility as singer/rapper.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -1
    nicko

    July 3, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    Nicki Minaj is very CLEVER and TALENTED !!U just can’t imagine how dope her bars can be !

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +4
    Bitchplease

    July 3, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    I can not stand when artists say they’re not parents to the young youth..and tell parents to teach their own kids.What about the kids that don’t have parents idiots..And all these debates on music only come about because there’s no balance..It’s like we’re listening to only 2 gens of music out of like 12 genres..I swear I listen to the radio and I feel like I’m listening to one song for and hour and they’d played like 16 electric/dance songs in that one hour..ALL GENRES OF MUSIC IS OUT THERE..ALL IS JUST NOT PROMOTED..

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment
    Yep!

    July 3, 2012 at 2:52 pm

    Nicki Minaj wont even be talked about in a few months…we are OVER HER…

    and TGJ …HER ALBUM IS NOT PLATINUM YET…SO STOP WITH THE LIES

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -3
    WELL DAMN!

    July 3, 2012 at 3:02 pm

    Let Nicki Minaj be the GREAT ARTIST that she is. She’s R&B, Pop, HipHop/Rap, Rock etc… I love the fact that she has all these sides to her because i have’nt got bored with her yet. You know?!… Like people are bored with Trina because we’ve seen her stay on the same level doing the same things since the beginning of her career j/s…

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -1
    TARBABY RANGER

    July 3, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    Are you telling me c***.I.Is is coming to this hoes defense. This n***** aint hip hop neither. Take a seat n****.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -5
    BLACK MADONNA

    July 3, 2012 at 3:06 pm

    HE SPOKE THE TRUTH..

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +5
    the real xoxo

    July 3, 2012 at 3:15 pm

    I dont have a problem with nicki experimenting with other genres.
    I do however find it pathetic when she just throws away her integrity for cheap hits like starships whip it and pound the alarm automatic. that isnt “experimenting” thats being a money-whore and it backfired because the cd is flopping compared to pink friday.

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    • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment
      ARE YOU SERIOUS?

      July 3, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      How did it backfire?????

      she is getting more Popular & still getting Money!

      its business at the end of the day ! her album sales are good! it will be plat by end july!

      like you haters really are pressed!

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -5
    FAF

    July 3, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    HERE’S THE THING… HIP HOP WAS CLEAN UNTIL PEOPLE LIKE LIL KIM MADE IT DIRTY. HIP HOP WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE GHETTO PER-SE. YOU HAD PEOPLE IN THE LATE ’70S AND ’80S RAPPING ABOUT RANDOM SHIT… NO DIFFERENCE PEOPLE NEED TO GET OVER NICKI IS KILLIN IT & AIN’T BOWING FOR NOONE…

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +3
    john

    July 3, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    Im not a nicki fan even though i like some of her music. All i got to say is yall need to quit hating. She tryinhg to build a brand. Something bigger then hip hop. And doing hood tracks is only gonna get you so far. You better ask khia, remy ma, and shawnna. Every rapper including lil kim, foxy brown, and eve all has cross over and done pop songs. So stop giving her a hard time. Heck missy is singing now. Isiah Classic Food available on kindle.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment
    6-Feet-Deep-Pussy

    July 3, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    CHILE PLEASE…!!!! NICKI HAS WORN OUT HER WELCOME IN THE HIP-HOP COMMUNITY, FAKE ASS BITCH!!!!!!!!EVEN HER DAD CALLED HER A LIAR, THIS BITCH IS A CHARACTER NOTHING MORE…

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +2
    BKMEKA

    July 3, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    oh boyyyyyyyyyyy william is a sell out too so of course e would agree with her bs

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +2
    BKMEKA

    July 3, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    oh boyyyyyyyyyyy william is a sell out too so of course he would agree with her bs

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +3
    Alex Angel

    July 3, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    Bud didn’t he do a song with Nicki Minaj let alone had moderate success. I don’t understand why people are so worried about this girl success & let alone being a sellout, which I don’t believe. The situation is so minute & minuscule its pathetic. Hell, we need to worry about some of our politicians becoming sell-outs. She’s smart & knows her demographic. If you have the power to project your music in avenue of people, then why not channel your artistry to the next. Its call diversifying and expanding your brand as a artist. I am not mad at all. Do you mama become Nicki Minaj, INC.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment -1
    OpD2

    July 3, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    nicki,s is doing her thing,people up top already say what i was about to so i,ll just leave it at that for now,like i said keep doing your thing nicki.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +1
    ImMadAsHell

    July 3, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    Missy got a great cross over appeal AKA pop. Lauryn Hill got a great cross over appeal AKA pop. These two woman cross over without losing oneself. Something Nicki doesn’t know anything about.

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    POP ROYALTY ( Révolution)

    July 3, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    shitty always defends shittier ?! what else is new ?

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +6
    CzarM

    July 3, 2012 at 6:24 pm

    Will.I.am is no position to speak on this subject, because he’s just as guilty of being a phony as she is. He is basically the male version of Nicki…just w/o the solo acclaim. Just like no real hip hop head listens to “Starships” and “Turn Me On,” they also don’t listen to “Boom, Boom Pow,” “I Gotta Feeling,” or “My Humps.” No wonder he defends Nicki; I’m sure every real criticism levied toward her for her inauthentic music and presence he feels on a personal level, because he’s just like her. A sell out. A counterfeit. A phony, who instead of trying to change the mainstream so that hip hop could continue to thrive in it as itself, opted to go mainstream to win the approval of massa.

    Black Eyed Peas started out as real, underground hip hop. Then — like Nicki — sold out to pop when they saw that they weren’t compelling enough to attract the larger success that they obviously wanted being their original selves. They’ve been un-hip hop ever since. These clowns are not “game changers,” nor are they expanding the genre; instead THEY are the ones limiting (and damaging) it. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, Salt N Pepa, Kim, Biggie, Eve, Nas, Lauryn, OutKast, etc., etc. didn’t change who they were to appeal to the mainstream; they made the mainstream come around to THEM. Today’s “rappers” like Nicki, Flo Rida, Pitbull, LMFAO and Will, himself, do the exact opposite; they, instead, conform and water themselves down for the sake of fitting in with the machine. That’s what makes them fake. They know that they aren’t compelling enough to defy convention and force the mainstream to come around to them like their predecessors did, so instead they play Herman Cain/Clarence Thomas/Condalizza Rice — being ‘house negros,’ who defiantly conform to the greater power…while turning their noses up at, and being critical of, real rappers who didn’t sell out to the Katy Perry crowd.

    Instead of soldiering on *for* Hip Hop, Nicki is looking for a quick, here-and-now success/profit. And you want to know what the hilarious thing is? She sells less than the aforementioned acts. Nicki has not sold as much as Lauryn and Pac did, and she never will.

    Types like Nicki are not doing anything FOR the genre of hip hop. They are not opening the eyes of non hip hop fans to the genre, nor are they bringing any hip hop heads around to pop music. It’s all very circular, repetitious with her. When she gets around white audiences she’s pop, then when she gets around black people she tries to channel the remains of her former hip hop self and it’s all phony. There’s nothing genuine about anything that Nicki does, and that’s why when she does play out she won’t have any lingering credibility. NO ONE will look back on the Nicki Minaj era with fondness nor will she retain any respect once she’s not the ‘It’-girl anymore. She’ll be seen as damn near Vanilla Ice.

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  • Like This Comment Dislike This Comment +1
    Jer

    July 3, 2012 at 9:01 pm

    I am dying at these comments. Yal just read Miss Williams whole life

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    Roberto

    July 3, 2012 at 9:45 pm

    The stupid audience is gullible and will believe anything told them by anyone in the industry . Artists, producers, managers , label heads will say WHATEVER to defend what they do and keep their pockets fat. Truth is music won’t die another genre will take the forefront and it has oohing to do with Nicki or anybody else…. The arrogance of this generation is funny when in 10 yrs nicki and the rest will reminisce on when they THOUGHT they ruled SORTA LIKE WILLIAM with Bep

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    Tbozfan10

    July 4, 2012 at 2:45 am

    What is wrong with that Kim fan who posted a link saying lil Kim’s naked truth went platinum?? Did you even look at the link you posted?! All it is is a Kim fan on tumblr saying it went platinum. It’s not even official! Damn talk about fabricating evidence lmao. That shit ain’t even gold I can’t believe you tried to pull that on us. That’s almost as bad as when Kim said she was the queen of PayPal! Lmfao

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    tru genius

    July 4, 2012 at 3:20 am

    Yall gotta understand, Nicki got a late start in this. She cant rely on the hip hop of today to eat and think about her future. She has to branch out. You think low, youll be stuck low.

    You dont plan to stay inthe ghetto. Look at rik ross, almost my grandpas age raping about the same tired shit. For a female thats not hardly attractive.

    I like the fact that Nicki found a strategy to make it in a tough female category and move FORWARD. People just aint tryin to hear females rap no more. Its been that way for a while. See she practically the only one. the other chicks better take note.

    Some of you act like you wouldnt take a promotion if it was given. GTFOH.

    I perfer Nickis rapping but I aint mad at mama. She gotta get hers. America does not give a damn about nobody.

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    Ttuth

    July 4, 2012 at 11:43 am

    SOOOMEbody pl-LEEEEZE smack the fuck put bitch above me!!! {tru genius..more like tru BITCH) HOE

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