Nicki Minaj
Public image
Public image
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[thumb\|upright\|Early in her career, Minaj often wore colorful costumes, cosmetics, and wigs.\|alt\=An Afro\-American woman in a blonde wig and bright teal eyeshadow wears a shirt constructed of variously colored cotton balls](/wiki/File:Christopher_Macsurak_Nicki_Minaj_cropped.jpg "Christopher Macsurak Nicki Minaj cropped.jpg")
*Billboard* listed Minaj as the fourth\-most\-active musician on social media on its March 2011 [Social 50](/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Social_50_number-one_artists "List of Billboard Social 50 number-one artists") chart. She is the [most\-followed rapper](/wiki/List_of_most-followed_Instagram_accounts "List of most-followed Instagram accounts") on [Instagram](/wiki/Instagram "Instagram") with over 228 million followers—the first to surpass 200 million followers—and the 17th\-most\-followed individual on the social media platform. On [Twitter](/wiki/Use_of_Twitter_by_public_figures "Use of Twitter by public figures") and [TikTok](/wiki/TikTok "TikTok"), she is the second\-most\-followed female rapper, with over 28 million and 20 million followers on the apps, respectively, as of September 2024\. Minaj is the most\-followed female rapper on Facebook, with over 48 million followers.  She was the most\-followed rapper on Twitter in 2012\. [BET](/wiki/BET "BET") has named Minaj as a "gay icon". Minaj was a vocal proponent of [streams](/wiki/Streaming_media "Streaming media") counting towards an artist's [RIAA](/wiki/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America "Recording Industry Association of America") certifications. The organization later announced in 2016 that it would be modernizing the certification process for albums, including on\-demand audio and video streams.

Minaj has been called as a "fashion icon" by *[Allure](/wiki/Allure_%28magazine%29 "Allure (magazine)")*, *[Time](/wiki/Time_%28magazine%29 "Time (magazine)")*, *[XXL](/wiki/XXL_%28magazine%29 "XXL (magazine)")* and has been called a "camp style icon" by [Refinery29](/wiki/Refinery29 "Refinery29"). She has cited [Alexander McQueen](/wiki/Alexander_McQueen "Alexander McQueen"), [Gianni Versace](/wiki/Gianni_Versace "Gianni Versace"), and [Christian Louboutin](/wiki/Christian_Louboutin "Christian Louboutin") as her favorite designers. *[The Huffington Post](/wiki/The_Huffington_Post "The Huffington Post")* described her style as "risk\-taking" and "far\-out", with "bold sartorial choices"; Minaj has been included on the annual *[Maxim](/wiki/Maxim_%28magazine%29 "Maxim (magazine)")* [Hot 100 list](/wiki/Maxim_%28magazine%29%23Maxim_Hot_100 "Maxim (magazine)#Maxim Hot 100") several times. In 2014, Minaj underwent a reinvention in her image sporting a "natural" and "softer" look, wearing fewer wigs and less colourful costumes. She stated that she "went so far to the other side that there's only one place to go from there. You can either continue doing costumes or you can just say, "Hey guess what? This will shock them even more. Doing nothing will shock them even more"".

Her physique, notably her [buttocks](/wiki/Buttocks "Buttocks"), has attracted significant attention from the media. Early in her career, she made autographing [breasts](/wiki/Breasts "Breasts") part of her movement to empower women. In 2010, she said that although she originally felt obligated to mimic the provocative behavior of the "female rappers of \[her] day", she intended to subdue her sexuality because she "\[wants] people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You've got to have something else to go with that."

Minaj talked about feminism in an interview with *[Vogue](/wiki/Vogue_%28magazine%29 "Vogue (magazine)")* in 2015, saying "There are things that I do that feminists don't like, and there are things that I do that they do like. I don't label myself. I just say the truth about what I feel. I feel like women can do anything that they put their minds to." In 2018, an interview with *[Elle](/wiki/Elle_%28magazine%29 "Elle (magazine)")*, in which she discussed [sex workers](/wiki/Sex_worker "Sex worker"), her own sex appeal, and sexuality in music and on social media, attracted criticism. In *[The New York Times Magazine](/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Magazine "The New York Times Magazine")*, music critic Vanessa Grigoriadis said that Minaj "has become expert at modelling the ways that women can wield power in the industry. But she has also drawn attention to the ways in which power can be embodied by a woman standing up for herself and speaking her own mind."

The cover art and music video for her 2014 single, "[Anaconda](/wiki/Anaconda_%28Nicki_Minaj_song%29 "Anaconda (Nicki Minaj song)")", attracted significant media attention upon release. The music video was viewed 19\.6 million times in its first 24 hours of release. *[The Guardian](/wiki/The_Guardian "The Guardian")* called the video "racy" but noted that she "doesn't shy from ruffling her audience's feathers", while others praised Minaj for "owning her sexuality", examining her work through a [feminist](/wiki/Feminism "Feminism") perspective. Another writer for *The Guardian* said, of the "Anaconda" video, Minaj turns "the classic song into a conversation, and \[refuses] to let the camera objectify her lap dance by keeping it zoomed out, at a distance."

Throughout Minaj's career, her outspoken views, feuds with several rappers, personal life, and fanbase have received significant media attention. Her fanbase, known as the "Barbz", have been reported as often being militant towards Minaj's critics, including incidents of reported [doxxing](/wiki/Doxing "Doxing"), [cyberbullying](/wiki/Cyberbullying "Cyberbullying"), and [death threats](/wiki/Death_threat "Death threat") from some fans.


What fashion designers has Minaj cited as her favorites?