LOCKED OUT

Nicki Minaj Makes Excuses For Being Skipped Over For Grammy Nod

By Jacob Wittich

NICKI MINAJ DIDN’T RECEIVE ANY GRAMMY nominations for her album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, which was one of the best selling hip hop albums of 2012.

Although Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded received great commercial success, it wasn’t well-received critically. The Los Angeles Times‘ Randall Roberts praised the album’s “minimal bouncy hip hop tracks” but lamented its pop “drives off a cliff.”

While many of the barbz wondered in amazement how her album, which is certified gold, could be snubbed from Grammy nominations, Miss Minaj seems to have some of her own ideas.

“I think that the Grammys had a different reason [for not nominating me] that I do not want to discuss,” Minaj told the Associated Press. “And that’s just between me and them.”

The usually quick-tempered Minaj doesn’t seem to discouraged by her lack of nominations. “I respect their organization and I’ll get a Grammy eventually. I’m not worried about it. I’ve gotten tons of awards and I believe when it’s my time to get a Grammy, I’ll get a Grammy,” Minaj said.

“You do feel good when you get awards and accolades. Maybe if I had been doing this for 10 years and I thought like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve put out 10 albums’ – maybe it would have hurt my feelings,” the star said. “But I still feel so new that it’s like, ‘Charge it to the game. It’s part of the game.”

Minaj said while earning Grammys is a goal, there are other aspects of her career that she values more.

“When I go to my shows and I’m selling out arenas in London, and when I’m in Australia and Japan, there aren’t any Grammys there,” she said. “There are human beings who I’ve touched. There are human beings who are inspired by me, who I love dearly. And that’s what my career is based on.”

While it’s sweet that Nicki values her fans more than her awards, and surprising that she hasn’t posted a Twitter rant dragging the committee, it’s still a wonder as to why the Grammy’s snubbed her. Here’s a likely few possibilities:

• The Grammys are still upset with Nicki for her little Roman Holiday stunt at last year’s Grammy ceremony. Maybe walking the red carpet with “the Pope” and performing a live exorcism on stage just a day after the death of Whitney Houston isn’t the best choice to make.
• The Grammys spent too much time listening to her album deciding whether her album should be placed in the hip hop or pop category. With heavy hitting hip hop songs such as Beez In The Trap and I Am Your Leader contrasting her dance tunes Starships and Pound The Alarm, it’s not an easy decision to make. Perhaps the Grammy committee got a headache and simply tossed the album aside rather than make a decision.
• The Grammys are Team Mariah. Maybe they’ve been keeping up with season of American Idol and are siding with Mariah Carey in the diva faceoff.

Jacob Wittich is pop music fanatic majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago.

Elizabeth C. contributed to this post.