Black women are being overlooked when it comes to violence against black men in America, Nicki Minaj notes in the new issue of Marie Claire magazine. Minaj, who covers the publication’s October/November 2016 edition speaks on a mixture of music and social topics with the fashion publication.
When asked about America’s ongoing violent epidemic that has seen black men slaughtered by police, Minaj pointed to the often forgotten women left to pick up the pieces, and even carry on the voices of those who have been silenced.
“We tend to not remember the black women who are mourning these men and who are thinking, ‘Oh, my God, what am I going to tell my child now about where his father is,’ and the struggle it is for black women to then move on after they lose their husband or their boyfriend,” she said. “The strong women in these inner cities often go unnoticed … no one really ever puts a hand out to them.”
Elsewhere in the cover story, which is penned by Janet Mock, Minaj points out a double-standard that women of color face within the media.
“When Kim Kardashian’s naked picture came out, [Sharon Osbourne] praised it, and my fans attacked her for being such a hypocrite,” noted the 33-year-old rapper. “So it wasn’t trashy and raunchy when a white woman did it, but it was when a black woman did it? It’s quite pathetic and sad, but that is my reality, and I’ve gotten accustomed to just shutting it down.”
The Queen’s native also talks competing against male rappers, collaborating with Beyonce, and modeling her career after Jay Z.
“I don’t need to read a book about [business],” she explained. “I can look at someone’s career and just pinpoint the dos and the don’ts, and the one person I’ve done that with for my entire career was Jay Z. He did such a great job being an authentic street guy and a businessman, and I was like, Why aren’t there women doing that, taking the success from rap and channeling it into their empire? I felt like anything he could do, I could do.”
The Marie Claire issue hits stands October 18. See photos of Minaj’s cover shoot below.
November issue of Marie Claire Magazine in #BALMAINFW16
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Thank you, @ninagarcia 👑 Shot by @kaizfeng styled by @edmondalison @marieclairemag November Issue
A photo posted by Nicki Minaj (@nickiminaj) on