Nicki Minaj is protesting the Recording Academy shifting her “Super Freaky Girl” from consideration in the Grammys’ rap division to a pop category, saying that she would be OK with the shift if it were applied consistently to other artists that straddle the crossover line, which she believes is not the case.
“I have no prob being moved out the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY,” Minaj tweeted late Thursday, in response to reports that her submission had been moved out of her chosen category.
“If SFG (‘Super Freaky Girl’) has 2B moved out RAP then so does Big Energy!” she added, referring to the Latto hit of that name. “ANY1 who says diff is simply a Nicki hater or a troll.”
And yet, nuancing the situation, Minaj acknowledged that her song may not be the most hardcore number on the scene — and that she would root for other candidates to win in rap, as long as other songs that lean as pop as hers, namely “Big Energy,” get the same treatment.
“I’d actually LUV 2 c a more street record win — male OR female!” she wrote, adding, “IJS (I’m just saying) rightIsRight.”
In response, a number of supporters dug up a tweet of Latto’s in which she seemed to indicate that “Big Energy” was not pure rap, saying, “I got my pop song going up now.”
The Recording Academy doesn’t reveal reasons its screening committees shift tracks from the categories they were submitted in to other divisions. The general ballot, which can include thousands of submissions in a single category, isn’t released to the public. But as it went out to Grammy voters Thursday, insiders learned what kind of judgment calls had been made.
Objecting to submissions being shifted between categories is an annual ritual. Last year, Kacey Musgraves took issue with her song being switched from her chosen genre, country, to pop. Brandi Carlile also took issue with a number of hers being put in pop contention instead of American roots last year. In a previous year, Justin Bieber objected to being moved into pop for what he considered to be a straight-up R&B song. Beyond these performers having strong feelings about where their real musical homes are, it’s also conventional wisdom that a win in a more narrow genre like rap or country might be easier than prevailing in pop, which is less well-defined and draws many more potential nominees.
While Minaj comes off as not entirely pleased by the Grammys’ move, it evidenced some understanding of why the shift might have happened, and stood a relatively gentle tweet, compared to some messages where she’s taken on perceived antagonists in far stronger terms.
In the case of “Super Freaky Girl,” it’s certainly a highly debatable call, as Minaj does rap through the entire song, with no singing, although the track makes such considerable use of the melody and other elements of Rick James’ “Super Freak” that it’s hard to hear her song without constantly flashing on the 1981 oldie.
Ironically, Minaj’s reconfigured, raunchy update was a bigger “pop” hit than James’ song was. His “Super Freak” went to No. 16 on the Hot 100 more than 40 years ago, while Minaj’s hit reached No. 1 this year.
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