NICKI MINAJ QUITTING RAP???

I know many of my Alius readers can imagine me chuckling in delight as I am typing this post, but I assure you all that is not the case. Despite my very public disputes with fellow members of the Alius staff and also Nicki lovers on Twitter and Facebook, I am actually saddened by the thought of Ms. Minaj even considering quitting the game. Regardless of how I feel about her lyrical talent, she represents a very marginalized group of women in the music business, the female emcee. Minaj has undisputed star quality and great business sense so what is prompting her to even entertain the idea of resigning from the music business?

To begin with and for those of you who don't follow Minaj's every move, last week the Barbie princess deactivated her Twitter account, releasing over 11 million followers and leaving a good portion of the hip hop masses very disappointed. Her reason for this? Apparently, one of her fan sites, Nicki Daily, leaked music from her latest album, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded," and after exchanging some pointed words with a few of her angry Barbz and Kenz in relation to the leak, she decided to leave Twitter for good, calling a certain group of followers "very mean."

Following her Twitter departure, Nicki gave an interview with UK radio host, Tim Westwood where she candidly discusses the strains the music business has placed on her. It seems that Ms. Minaj feels that she should have received a greater amount of appreciation for her latest album. Juggling between accents (the first, Britsh and the second, her rendition of rapper and labelmate, Lil Wayne), Minaj commented to Westwood: "This is my fourth mixtape really. You know what I'm saying. The Kid did it like that so she could feed her fans. But really, now the Kid is thinking maybe she should leave the game."

Tsk tsk, the fame may finally be taking a toll on our favorite hip hop doll. I actually feel sorry for Nicki though. Underneath all the neon spandex, multi-colored wigs and heavy eye make-up is just a girl who wants to be respected for her work and her dedication to music. Why can't we just love her for that? It definitely wouldn't be smart for her to leave now though. Regardless of how much appreciation Nicki felt she deserved for "Roman Reloaded", the album still sold over 253,000 copies, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200. Not to mention the fact that she is still loved EVERYWHERE, especially here in Detroit where she shut down Club Pandemonium at capacity after her concert last April.

Let's all pray for her....and in the meantime, check out excerpts from her interview with Westwood at timwestwoodtv on YouTube.

VIA ALIUS MAGAZINE