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Michiyia Edney
English 111
Compare and Contrast Research Essay
December 21, 2015
TwoHiphopQueensCypher
for
the
Throne
Inthepast,duringthelate1990'sLil'Kimledthebillboardforfemalerap
.
Now,inthe2000's,
NickiMinajleadsthechartsforfemalerappers.Withi
n the rap industry
,
Lil
'
Kim and
Nicki
Minaj have

been the
mostsuccessful,popularandinfluential.Lil'KimandNickiMinajbothbeingtwovery
successfulfemalerappershavebeencategorizedtogetherwhichhascreatedacontroversialwarover
whichartistisessentially"TheQueenofHiphop".Lil'KimandNickiMinajhaveverysimilar
accomplishmentswithmakingitthroughthecasualtiesofbeingafemaleworkinginamaledominated
industryandbeingabletoreachpopculturethroughtheirmusiccausingbothartisttohaveahugeimpact
onthegenerationofeachartistcareer.
The two rappers have gained the worlds attention and respect

with their bold and risqu personas which caused them to get discovered
inthemidstofsomany
aspiringrapperswhojustdidn'thavethesuperstarfeaturesthatthesetwohad.
Mutually
,
these artist

have done what was once unheard of


but
now looked upon
aswhatkeptthemontop.
These two
women have both conquered a male dominated industry
!
Through the both
extraordinary
careers
of
Lil
'
Kim and Nicki Minaj as Female Rappers they both have earned the title as "The Queen of Hip
h
op".

Before New Yorker Kimberly Jones and Trinidadian Onika Maraj became
the
super star
s
Lil
'

Kim and Nicki Minaj


,
they both were discovered by popular rappers that saw potential in them and
gave them a chance to do what they loved
andweredestinedtodo
.
Lil'KimwasbornonJuly11,1975
intheBedfordStuyvesantsectionoftheNewYorkCityboroughofBrooklyn.Lil'Kimhadalways

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enjoyedbeinginthelimelight"ataveryyoungage,shedisplayedadesiretoperform."("Lil'Kim")and
dressingup.Eversinceshewasalittlegirl,shewouldwear"highheels,putonlipstickandsinginfront
ofamirror."("LilKim")notknowingwhatherfuturehadinstoreforher.Overcomingaruffupbringing
afterherparentssplitupLilKimdevelopedahobby,rapping.Rappinghadbecomeherawaytoexpress
herself.Lil'Kimsoonrealizedthatshewantedtotakeherhobbytothenextlevel.LilKimusedher
appearanceasanadvantagetogettheattentionofestablishedmalerapperChristopher"BiggieSmalls"
Wallace,whileaspiringtobecomeasignedhiphopartist.BiggieSmalls
helped pave Kimberly Jones get

to the rise of
her
career as the rapper Lil
'
Kim we know today
.

Lil'Kimexplodedontotherapscene
in1995,asamemberoftheJuniorM.A.F.I.A.,agroupformedbyChristopherWallace,alsoknownas
theNotoriousB.I.G.orBiggieSmalls.Sincethereleaseofherplatinumsolodebut,Hardcore(1996),
Kimhasreceivedmuchattentionforherexplicitlyrics,increasinglyoutrageousoutfits,andgeneral,
unapologeticraunchiness."("LilKim").Afterherfirstalbumdroppedthatwaswhensheblewupandthe
risetostardomhadbegun!ThewomanBiggiehadgivenachancetowasn'tanamateur,"Thealbum'sfirst
single,"NoTime,"spentnineweeksinthenumberonespotonBillboard'srapchartandwentonto
becomeagoldrecord."("Lil'Kim").,shewasahitmaker.WhetherKimberlyJoneswasbeingreferredto
as"QueenBee","NotoriousK.I.M."orsimply"Lil'Kim",shehaddefiantlycreatedanameforherselfin
therapindustry.Lil'Kim'sversesbecamehighindemandandshehadbeenfeaturedonmanypopular
R&BpopartistssongsincludingMaryJ.Blige,ChristinaAguilera,Aaliyahandmanymore.Similarto
Lil'Kim'sdiscovery,NickiMinajwasalsodiscoveredbyafamousmalerapperbythenameofDwayne
"LilWayne"Carterthatallowedhertoescapethecasualtiesshefacedinherchildhoodbybeingraisedin
abrokenhome.NickiMinaj
was born on December 8, 1982

in Saint James, a district in Trinidad and

Tobagos capital city, Port-of-Spain.


NickiMinajmovedtoNewYorkCityboroughofQueensinthe
lateryearsofherchildhoodwherehermomwasabletoprovideamorestablelifeforNickiMinajandher
siblings.NickiMinajattendedLaGuardiaHighSchool.EventhoughNickiMinajhadwrittenarapsong

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attheageoftwelveshehadtakenmoreofaninterestinperformingartswhichshewouldtakeadvantage
oflaterinhercareerasafemalerapperandperformer.LaGuardiaHighSchoolisaNewYorkCity
performingartsinstitutionwhichiswhereshewasabletodiscoverthedifferentpersonalitiesshewas
abletounveilthatshelaterbroadcastinhermusic.Beingthatherhighschoolwasaperformancearts
schoolittaughtherhowtopickupgigs."Shelaterbegantakingongigssingingbackupforlocalrappers
andpostingphotosandvideosonherMySpacepage"("NickiMinaj")andleadherontothegigthat
wouldbecomewhereshegotherbigbreak,"
TheComeUp
"whichwasaverypopularDVDinthelate
2000'swhereundergroundartistwouldgetshineon.ThatiswhereshecapturedtheeyesofDwayne"Lil
Wayne"Carter.Afterhesawherhewantedtoknowmoreabouttheimpressiveyoungfemalerapper.He
thenfeaturedheronseriesofmixtapesthatarenowlookeduponasclassics.BytheverypopularLil
WaynehopingonthetrackwithNickiMinajitgotattentionfromotherartistlikeBirdman,T.I.and
GucciManewhowantedhertofeatureontheirsongs.Thesong"FiveStarChick"byGucciManeiswhat
goteveryone'sattentionandwasherfirstappearanceinaofficialmusicvideo.
"In2009,MinajmadeamemorableappearanceinthemusicvideoforrapperGucciManesFiveStar
Chick,dancingprovocativelyandsportingvibrantlycoloredmakeupandaCleopatratypehairstyle.
MyhandsjustwentonmyhipsandIbecamelikeadoll.Ihadneverdonethatbeforeorplannedtodo
it,sheexplainedtoConcepcion.AfterthatIwouldgotoshowsandgirlsintheaudiencewoulddothe
wholeFiveStarChickdance.AfterwardIthought,MaybeImontosomething.Referringtoanarea
inJapanknownforitsyouthcultureandtrendyfashions,MinajbegancallingherselftheHarajukuBarbie
andlaterdubbedherfansBarbies.("Nicki").
ThatvideoiswhereNickiMinajclaimedherspotlightasafemalerapperwithadifferentsoundand
televisedherstylewhichbecameatrendforgirlsaroundtheworld.OnikaMarajalwayswantedtohavea
careerusinghertalentbutalsowantedtobeabletoreachoutspecificallytothewomen'saudience"
[e]
ventually, she did--more or less--reinventing herself as Nicki Minaj and becoming a platinum-selling

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hip-hop superstar
(
"Nicki
").Thetwonowverywellknownfemalehiphopartisthaveovercamethe
adversitiesthroughouttheirlifetobecomesomeonetosocietywhileusingtheirtalenttocreateafortune
.
Lil'KimandNickiMinajhasmadesuchahugeimpactonthehiphopgenrebecauseeachofthem
haveproventotheworldthatacanwomenworkinamaledominatedfield,begreatatitanddomore!
Lil'Kimwastherapperknownforherboldandraunchylyrics(andafashionsenseto
match)("Samuels,Allison")butthatwasnotall.Asfor"Hersoloalbum,Hardcore,rosetonumber11on
theBillboard200chartwithinaweekofitsrelease,makingitthemostsuccessfuldebuteverbyafemale
hiphopartist."("LilKim").Lil'Kimwentontoplayinmoviessuchas
She'sAllThat
(1999),
Scary
Movie
(2000)and
GangofRoses
(2003)justtonameafew.Lil'Kimhasalsobeenonthecoversofthe
mostrespectedmagazinessuchas
Vouge
an
Jet
.Lil'Kimhasalsodabbledinpromotionsforlipstickand
clothinglines.Lil'Kimprovedthatwomencoulddoanythingtheputtheirmindtowhichopeneddoors
forfemalesincludingNickiMinaj.
Nicki Minaj is now
the
female rapper who is impacting the hip-hop

genre and
breakingevenmorebarriers
.
Nicki"
Minaj made history by having the most singles on
Billboards Hot 100 chart at the same time
"("Nicki")whichvouchesforhowgreatherimpactonthis
generationis.
NjckiMinajhasherownclothinglineandperfumeline.NickiMinaj

has
earned
numerous
"
industry prizes, including BET Awards as best female hip-hop artist in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013; an

MTV Video Music Award for best hip-hop video of 2011 (for her hit single Super Bass); and a
Peoples Choice Award as favorite hip-hop artist of 2013
"("Nicki")
.

Because of the role in hip-hop


Nicki Minaj plays the female rap industry still stands
strong
.
Lil'KimhasgivenandNickiMinajhas
kepthopealiveforyoungaspiringgirlstodowhattheydreamofdoingdespitewhatsocietyglorifies.
T
he devoted grind that Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj
bothpossessaddsto
their passion
for
rapping
.
BeforetherewasLilKimthefemalerapindustrydidnothaveanyvalue.Eachartistcaughttheattention
fromaccomplishedmalerappersthattookthemundertheirwingandgavethemachanceandtherestis
history!T
hey
've
accomplishe
d
the

rise
to
fame and
peaked
success in their careers.

Lil Kim and Nicki

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Minaj are looked


upon
as role-models
becauseof
their huge influence and contribution to the hip-hop
genre
ofmusic.Backthen,Lil'Kimwasthefirstfemalerappertoswitchtherapgameupwithher
versatilityanduniquerapapproach.Now,NickiMinajhastheworldsattentionbecauseofthewayshe
hasconqueredtherapgamewithhermanyalteregosthatsheportraysinhermusicwhilesheisalsoa
mogulwhoiswellrounded.Lil'KimandNickiMinajhaveexposed"TruthAboutWomenandHipHop
offersanindepthlookintothepastandpresentroleofwomeninhiphophowtheyhaveinfluencedthe
genre,howthegenrehaveimpactedthemandthegenderspecificdifferencesinartistry,marketing,
promotionandeconomicsthatmarktheindustry.("BET").Myresearchhasproventhattherecan
defiantlybetwoQueensofHiphopandbothLil'KimandNjckiMinajshallnolongercypheraboutit.
Becauseofthesuccess,popularityandinfluenceLil'KimandNickiMinajhaveisthereasonthetwo
femalerappersarebothrecognizedanddeservingofthetitle"QueenofHiphop".

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