Not everyone was pleased with Nicki Minaj's performance on SNL last night.
The self-proclaimed Queen of Rap rocked the Saturday Night Live show stage to bring their season to its finale. It was obvious that Nicki would bring her most recent hit track "Chun-Li" to life.
Accompanied by Asian backup dancers and dressing up in traditional garb, Minaj channeled her inner warrior to shut the show down. Though it was was a character for the rapper, it was deemed inappropriate to many viewers who took their opinions to social media.
Chopsticks in her buns and a set stage fashioned as a typical Asian-style pavilion background helped take things to the extreme and followers just weren't having it. The homage the hip-hop artist was paying to Capcom's first female Street Fighter character was considered cultural appropriation. Twitter snapped with posts of frustration for the "offensive" representation of Japanese culture.
Many even mentioned a past situation where a high school student went viral and was attacked for being accused of cultural appropriation when she wore a Chinese-inspired dress to prom. Accusations of hypocrisy rose questioning why it was okay for the Queen artist to use cultural norms and dress as entertainment. Of course, Barbz weren't far behind standing for their leader to explain that there was no appropriation since there was no malice or disrespect in the show.
"Becoming a character" isn't something new when it comes to Nicki Minaj and her art of performing, so there's no saying what made this performance the straw that broke the camel's back. So far, Nicki hasn't responded to the allegations.
Source: hiphopdx.com
