S. Samuel
Young Money's Nicki Minaj has taken note of the back-to-school time of year and given some words of wisdom to her undergraduate Barbies.
Writing via Twitter, Minaj stressed the importance of taking school seriously.
Congrats barb!!! Dats awesome!! 🙂 —> RT @MissTahj: @NICKIMINAJ Guess what nicki..im going 2 be valedictorian of my senior class! :),” she tweeted Saturday (September 5).
“LUV IT! 🙂 –> RT @AmyMacedo: @NICKIMINAJ I’m ready for back 2 school HB! What u think? 🙂 #PinkFridayhttp://plixi.com/p/43220243”
“Dear barbz, this year I want u to truly shine in school. Promise me you’ll focus. Put the phones & ipods away and shine. Luv alwayz, HB.” (Nicki Minaj’s Twitter)
Last year, Minaj’s Young Money labelmate Shanell aka SNL hit up SOHH to reflect on her school days.
“I was a little outcast,” Shanell jokingly revealed about her school days. “My whole thing was I moved from Massachusetts which is the East Coast to Atlanta, Georgia which is the South. And when I first moved to the South, they were looking at me like, ‘What!?’ because it was so different. I had to just maintain what I knew and maintain myself and I always kinda stuck out like a sore thumb but it was okay, I learned to love it. I was different, I was an outcast but nobody ever made fun of me, I was maybe like the girl in school that everybody knew but I didn’t know them. Nothing was intentional, it was just what I knew and where I came from.” (SOHH)
In the past, Lil Wayne was featured in an education-based commercial to promote a “Get Schooled: You Have The Right” program.
“Growing up in a tough neighborhood is something I know a little about,” Weezy said in the commercial’s intro. “It’s not easy and you have to rise up and stand out. Right now, fewer than one in ten lower income students can expect to earn a bachelor’s degree. Odds like that, a better life seems harder to come by. America needs a stronger educational system and the time is now for bold reform. We owe the next generation a brighter future. Motivate. Educate. Elevate. Get Schooled. (“Get Schooled”)
Aside from her Barbies, Minaj is currently focused on the November 23rd release of her long-awaited debut, Pink Friday.
“[Young Money] won’t look to sign other female rappers if the project doesn’t do well, because they’re going to say, ‘Well, her buzz was so crazy, and if she couldn’t do it, then no one can do it,’ and I don’t want that to happen. So I’m doing this as well for all the girls…I hope it will open doors for all girls everywhere who ever wanted to pick up a mic and rap and who have been kind of afraid to do it…For a long time in my life, I was afraid to be a solo female rapper, because everyone told me, ‘It doesn’t work. It’s not going to happen. Record companies are never going to invest in you just to get it. Just be part of a group.’ … Even as far as I’ve come now is already a testament in my mind, so I hope the female rappers understand how big it is for our culture that the album does well.” (V-103)
Check out a recent Nicki Minaj interview below:
