#i was reading up on the 'was kurt a trans girl' 'controversy' recently

[ashtrayfloors]

EPISODE TWO KURT’S BRAIN - INTERIOR

Kurt’s obsession with fashion went back a long way. It was part of a more general appreciation of beautiful and material things, which he’d had since he was a child.

Kurt suspected that this early aesthetic education was responsible for the direction of his own tastes. Things were beautiful to him in inverse proportion to their accessibility: a logic which struck him as childish for its fetishisation of impotence. But the 90s were about not growing up. The pages of the music and celebrity magazines that didn’t have Kurt’s face on them were filled with images of manufactured adolescence: teeny bopper twinks dressed in virginal white, A-listers doused with slime in studios resembling kindergartens, and an ageing parade of actors fresh out of high school drag.

He might seem like a kid to an industry obsessed with youth and its prophecies, but he was a grown up with a kid of his own. Even in earlier relationships he’d wanted the house with the picket fence. Tobi Vail used to say it was because of his parents’ divorce; they’d get into screaming arguments about his attachment to what she called the ‘bourgeois and patriarchal trap of success’. Kurt was hurt, but he did agree that he wanted these things as signs that he had made it. Not to the American dream that Vail despised him for, but to some indefinable sense of a future, and this was the only one he could imagine.

Such feelings were deeply unfashionable, and got in the way of the punk recklessness that had first attracted Vail, and which she held at arms’ length, an accessory to complete her image. Not that he minded them not interrogating these desires together. Kurt couldn’t put it more eloquently than this, but it felt both good and bad to dangle from her arm. To be used the way a man might use a beautiful woman. No one had read any Judith Butler yet, so Kurt could only say: Tobi’s riot grrl feminism made him feel like a woman, but it also made him know he wasn’t one. He was part of a group of people who obstructed people like Tobi, who’s desires stood in the way of her liberation. These wants stood for his involvement in patriarchy; women only wanted these things because men wanted them for them.

But Kurt didn’t care, he dreamed of being turned into an image, into an adornment for the grrls, the gyrls, the gworls of the future. He dreamt that his name would become a secret call passed between women in chokers at parties in lofts and warehouses in metropolitan areas of the United States. He dreamt of a teenage starlet gaining fame in a tv show where she wore his dirty bob for an audience too young to remember his music. He dreamt of the expansion of the internet and forums on which users would share photos of him and argue about what he wore and what he said.

He didn’t tell anyone these dreams. Unlike the house and family, these were just for him.

—Francis Whorrall-Campbell, from "[Digital Poetics 4.7] A Fragment on Kurt Cobain’s Transgender Ideas from ‘In Utero’" (The Hythe)

#quotations #francis whorral campbell #kurt cobain #alternative history #trans stuff #recently read #i was reading up on the 'was kurt a trans girl' 'controversy' recently #and like honestly i can see why people say he was #or if not a trans woman then nonbinary #what's weird to me is people getting so angry that anyone suggests it as a possibility #because like obviously we don't know for sure #and we never will #but how does someone headcanoning kurdt as transfem hurt anyone? #it does not! #also i can 1000% guarantee that if kurt were still alive - even if he was not trans/not out as trans - there is no way he would be upset #about people speculating about it #he'd probably be flattered! #ne way #this particular essay is the best one i've found re: trans kurt

[theperfectlywise]

The curious case of Nicki Minaj: Female emcees, respect, & marketing in the streaming era

Missy Elliot’s Miss E…So Addictive was the first album by a female rapper that I bought. Or rather, that my dad bought for me the summer of 2001. Before a generation lost their innocence when those planes crashed through the World Trade Center. Before the streaming era took over and put the entire music industry’s discography on our iPhones. And when ripping the annoying plastic covering off that CD case would gave you a singular rush of anticipation. The late Purple God Prince gave us a gentle rebuke about albums at the 2016 Grammy Awards, before his untimely death: “Albums still matter. Like books and Black lives, albums still matter.”

But with time comes change, so we’ll spare the excess nostalgia for another time. And given the amount of music I consume daily, buying albums today would likely leave me homeless and penniless, with nothing but my Kate Spade bags, wigs & CDs as declared assets. So there’s that.

Female emcees have always had a tricky relationship with hip-hop, especially along the lines of visibility. Today, Missy’s ….So Addictive and Ms. Lauryn’s Miseducation records rest in an old black case, along with countless others by male colleagues (i.e., Jay, Mobb Deep, Outcast, Wu Tang Klan, etc.). Those two CDs are token items, like the one Black guy that always get killed first in horror movies — there to confirm that female emcees exist, but still not enough to suggest real interest in their stories. Thankfully, I’ve remedied that oversight in my adult years.

Fast forward to 2008, when an up-and-coming Queens emcee named Nicki Minaj captivated the hip-hop world with her Sucka Free mixtape and 2009 Beam Me Up Scotty follow-up.

A Lil’ Kim clone through and through down to the lingerie picture, Beam Me Up Scotty put me on notice to Nicki’s talent as a rapper — something she would later confirm when she washed two hip-hop heavyweights (Kanye West and Hov) on the same song, Monster. Nicki the Ninja would later carry the success of that mixtape, her Pink Friday album, and an eccentric and a playfully sexual Barbie aesthetic to become the highest-selling female rapper of all time. She would run unopposed with this status for years to come.

Looking at Nicki’s recent controversies and chart performance — Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times noted: “Of her [Nicki’s] two songs as a lead artist currently on the Billboard Hot 100, none is higher than number 81”— you get the sense this unopposed run has inspired complacency, if not outright arrogance on her part. Sure, we can chalk this complacency up to hip-hop’s fucked up expectation that only one woman rapper can sit on the throne. That would be a valid argument, as talented female emcees like Rapsody have not enjoyed mainstream success, despite being a Grammy-nominated artist and rapping better than the rainbow-haired, lean-drinking weirdos currently dominating the new school.

That being said, it is my observation that Nicki is currently hanging by the same rope she gladly hung Lil’ Kim with years before. That same standard that helped Nicki during her rise — and relegated Kim’s legacy to an afterthought — is slowly painting her as a “has-been” now.

Where are the receipts? Let’s look at Nicki’s 2018 so far (in chronological order):

April 3, 2018: Coming out of social media hiatus

Nicki was spotted at LAX Airport after being on a social-media hiatus since December 2017. With an all-black ensemble and over-sized shades in tow, Nicki’s airport walk-through signaled a return to the public — and created anticipation for more. Is she coming out with a new song, after all these months? A new interview? We would get this answer a little over a week later.

April 12, 2018: Zane Lowe interview, new singles, and those Cardi B/Tokyo Stylez comments

In the midst of releasing Barbie Tingz and Chun Li, Nicki gave a deep-dive on a variety of topics including her current artistic process, social media, Meek Mill’s legal troubles, and Cardi B. Given that Cardi’s Invasion of Privacy album was released the prior Friday (April 6th), her comments on Cardi grabbed the most headlines.

On Cardi B, Nicki said:

“The only thing with Cardi that really, really, really hurt my feelings was the first interview she did after ‘MotorSport’ came out… With ‘MotorSport,’ I kinda felt ambushed. Up until this recent interview she did, I had never seen her show me genuine love in an interview. And I can just imagine how many girls wished they could be on a song with Nicki Minaj.”

When asked why she didn’t appear on camera with Cardi in the MotorSportmusic video, Nicki effectively threw celebrity hair-stylist Tokyo Stylez under the bus for a scheduling conflict:

“Even with the scheduling conflict, she’s using my hairdresser now so even he can attest to the fact, Tokyo [Stylez]…He knows there really was a scheduling conflict and it was because of him. He’s the one that couldn’t show up. I texted him, ‘You know, if I don’t show up the day she’s shooting, they’re gonna act like I’m doing it to be mean with the current Nicki hate train.’ He wasn’t able to come, and that’s fine.”

I side-eyed these comments for a couple of reasons. For one, Nicki’s assertion that “many girls” wish for a Nicki collab tells me that she expected Cardi to bow down and kiss the ring. Given Nicki’s prior beefs with female rap legends (see: Lil’ Kim’s 2012 Breakfast Club interview) who believed she didn’t pay respect during her rise, it’s strange that she would take Cardi to task in this way. Also, publically blaming the lack of on-camera appearance on a celebrity hairstylist was a messy and unnecessary move. Why throw another professional under the bus for your lack of joint on-screen appearance?

May 24, 2018: Queen is pushed from June 15 to August 10

In an Instagram live-stream, Nicki announced that Queen would be released on August 10th, as opposed to the originally announced June 15 date she teased during a Vogue interview on the Met Gala red carpet. Granted, album push backs are perfectly normal. In many cases, the extra time can help an artist perfect their record and it also gives management more leeway to execute the roll-out. On the other side, album push backs can signal doubts on either:

1.) The quality of the project

2.) How much said project will sell/connect with audiences

3.) Clarity with the album roll-out strategy

In Nicki’s case, to return from hiatus in April with two singles (Barbie Tingz and Chun Li) only to push the album release from June to August points to some internal doubts about the ability of the project to compete in a summer of high-profile releases (i.e., Kanye Kardashian, Drizzy, Nas, etc.). Also, this might be a small detail, but there’s a lack of a cohesive aesthetic between Nicki’s recent singles that is hard to ignore.

Shout out to @bluekeyblade for pointing out this lack of cohesion on this Twitter thread.

The varying aesthetics here contrast with other mainstream artists. Here are some examples Twitter users pointed out under that thread:

You can argue that the increasing emphasis on singles during the streaming era has reduced the need for cohesive projects and aesthetics. However, the marketing professional in me believes these varied aesthetics points to a record label and management team that are testing different aesthetics to see what consumers will connect with. Streaming era aside, it is evident a clear aesthetic is key to a successful brand strategy. Between Mariah’s album fonts, Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman bunny ears, and RiRi’s red hair during the Loud era — all of these artists had a cohesive look that was synonymous with their projects. That Nicki doesn’t appear to have a cohesive aesthetic going into an album roll-out is a worrying sign for how she is being marketed in this new streaming era.

June 13, 2018: ELLE magazine interview, and those sex-work comments

With the tagline “The Queen Returns,” it’s clear this cover-story was meant to promote her new album and assert her return back to the top. You might have missed this though, as controversial comments around sex-work dominated headlines.

“Maybe I was naive, but I didn’t realize how many girls were modern-day prostitutes,” she said. “Whether you’re a stripper, or whether you’re an Instagram girl — these girls are so beautiful and they have so much to offer. But I started finding out that you give them a couple thousand dollars, and you can have sex with them.”

So I’ll start with this reaction gif of Kurt from Glee:

Upon reading these comments, I’m struck by the lack of empathy from a woman who has earned millions by selling her body and sex appeal. Maybe Nicki was simply unaware that performing sex work is often a literal means of survival for poor and disenfranchised women. Contrary to popular belief, sex work doesn’t just occur among the impossibly beautiful Instagram models who fuck rich men for Birkin bags and a trip to the Maldives. On the other side of this jet-set living are poor, LGBT women of color who perform sex work to feed and provide for their families. New York Times best-selling author and trans activist Janet Mock spoke on this very reality in a 2018 AM Tonight interview with Alicia Menendez.

Also, to have these comments come out around the same time she released Rich Sex, a song with these poetic lyrics just boggles the mind.

If you know your pussy worth a Benz truck

(Rich sex)

Don’t let homie fuck unless his bands up

(Rich sex)

Go to DR, get that fat transfer

(Rich sex)

It ain’t such a thing as broke and handsome

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

July 7, 2018: Wanna Thompson, Karen Civil, and those DMs

This brings us to the most recent “controversy” surrounding Onika and those Twitter DMs with Wanna Thompson, a freelance writer from Toronto. I won’t add more to this story, as much has been recently discussed related to Wanna’s original tweet, Nicki’s DM, and Wanna’s subsequent firing from Karen Civil’s website. Check out the New York Times profile on Ms.Thompson for the whole story. Needless to say, the experience has done little to promote Ms. Minaj in a positive light ahead of her album release. Also, it’s interesting that Wanna identified the need for Nicki’s artistry to evolve — a complaint other critics have noted. I mean, how many “bitches are my sons” bars can we take?

Missy Misdemeanor commented on the current state of music and female emcees during a 2012 Breakfast Club interview. When asked about Nicki Minaj — understandable given Nicki’s presence as the top-selling female rapper — Missy curiously wrapped her praise for Nicki’s hustle with the need for unity, respect for music’s predecessors, and new talent development. Judging by Nicki’s history of feuds with older female rappers (Lil’ Kim being the most prominent ) and rumors of behind-the-scenes sabotage antics against her peers, Missy seems to be alluding to some funny-style actions on Nicki’s part. When you think about Missy’s call to nurture new hip-hop talent (lest your own legacy becomes discredited by the new school) and Nicki’s current inability to produce a hit single with lasting power, her words sound that much more prophetic right now. That may soon change though, as Bed, a Ariana Grande collab and a rumored collab with Tekashi 69 are sure to capture attention ahead of the album release. And controversy aside, all press is good press, right?

Looking at Missy’s 20+ year career and the goodwill she still wields in the industry, I’m reminded of how important it is to treat people with respect. That stars are not immune to a fickle consumer base that loves them one second and discards them the next. That complacency is the killer of growth. And when all else fails — it’s alright to sit down, mind your business, and eat your food. We don’t see Beyonce giving controversy-laden interviews and clapping back at music writers on Twitter for a reason. Just saying.

#music #nicki minaj #culture #hiphop #lifestyle