Quite some time ago, I came across a tweet from someone asking “Why would Nicki Minaj name her album The Pinkprint? She is no Jay Z. That is disrespectful to his legacy.” This made me sit back and think because I never felt like she was disrespecting a legacy. I thought she was only creating hers, all the while paying homage to someone she looks up to.
A blueprint by definition is a design plan or other technical drawing. Jay Z's success story is Hip-Hop's go-to plan or blueprint for success in the music business. Do the girls not need their own plan for success stories in this misogynistic game we call Hip-Hop? Does Nicki's name on Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list mean nothing in terms of success?
I think people, like the guys , I see saying this are missing the point and reading into the situation completely wrong. They're still stuck in the past wanting that “old Hip Hop” sound (a sound no one is really using in the mainstream circuit anymore). Some believe Nicki is comparing herself to Jay Z from a lyrical standpoint.
No matter how you feel about Nicki's lyrical capabilities, I don't think her album title decision meant her album would be like The Blueprint sonically at all, more conceptually speaking. I believe she meant that she's showing female rappers what has to be done to win in this NEW day and age of Hip Hop/Rap music—what Jay Z showcased when he did The Blueprint.
Even in spite of Nicki naming her album The Pinkprint, why would you expect Nicki to drop a Blueprint album anyway, sonically speaking, when Jay Z doesn't even make “Blueprint” type music anymore? It makes no sense.
The game plan for female rappers has to be different than the boys'. That's a proven FACT. Females who tried to be successful and aqcuire longevity as a rapper following the guys' game plan, where are they now? No one truly cares enough to know. Women like Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, and Missy made their own rules, just like Nicki is doing now.
Nicki is both singing and rapping on tracks like Lauryn and Queen Latifah did. Nicki is furthering her acting career like Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifah did. Nicki is blatantly unapologetic for her "oddness" like Missy was. All the while, Nicki is successfully establishing herself as a mogul with tons of business ventures like Queen Latifah still is. Could this be the key to femcee longevity? We'll see.
To continue, as said by radio personality, Peter Rosenberg and many others, Nicki is the most influential female rapper ever in terms of global reach and sales. Whether you like Nicki Minaj's music and choices or not she has the updated game plan for the success of a female rapper in her possession. We know this because she is both creating it and winning. Through her triumphs and tribulations, Nicki teaches the upcoming females what should or should not be done. However, when speaking about Nicki's moves it should be what can be done. She's a mogul who has knocked down the doors the music industry tried to henge shut, for a second time, after the downfall of female rappers prior to Nicki. The Pinkprint will be another statement of all this and more. Additional Thoughts ADDED: 11.3.14 After the release of The Pinkprint's deluxe edition album cover, I began to have further thoughts about Nicki's whole concept. Though I still stand behind the above stated points. Since fingerprints are unique per individual, what if the fingerprint on the cover represents Nicki, herself, being the pinkprint? What if she's telling people that she is the guideline to success as a female rapper? That is certainly a bold statement from the humble rapper. Nevertheless, her theory has not been proven wrong. ADDED: 11.7.14 V Magazine released an interview with Nicki Minaj today. Nicki explained to Patrik Sandberg how she wants people to have a glimpse of her life after hearing The Pinkprint.
"When I play this album for people, no matter how emotional or how hard the record is, it seems like it makes people excited, it's a conversational piece, and they feel like they're looking through a peephole at my life." Maybe The Pinkprint deluxe edition album cover wasn't created to allude to Nicki being the pinkprint. Instead, the fingerprint could be reinstating the album's more personal content. ADDED: 12.4.14 In the December 2014/January 2015 issue of Complex Magazine Nicki was interviewed by Lauren Nostro, who recalled her sit down with Nicki in an article called The Real Her.
LN: Jay Z's The Blueprint inspired the title The Pinkprint and the idea of laying the blueprint for female rappers to come. What similarities do you see between you right now and Jay circa The Blueprint?
NM: I can't. I have no idea what he was doing before The Blueprint dropped. It's not that literal. People keep asking me about Jay's The Blueprint and they think I'm doing something like that. I made reference to The Blueprint because Jay is the biggest rapper of our time. The name of the album was inspired by Jay but not the body of work. I do think that it's going to create new rules, though, in [the way] that [The Blueprint did]. Similar to my opinion, Nicki denies The Pinkprint and Blueprint's sonic comparability and instead agrees that it'll lay down new rules. About two years ago Nicki informed the world saying, "My career's been the Pinkprint." I could not agree with her more. New females shouldn't expect to receive Hip Hop's formula through one album, but through every move she has made in her career.