17 Dec 2010, Posted by admin in Fashion, 0 Comments

view from the front row’s people, places and things that mattered in 2010: nicki minaj

View From the Front Row will be highlighting the people, places and things that mattered in 2010 in food, fashion and design picked by our editors and contributors. Weigh in in the comments section, what made your 2010 list?

No other musician made a splash in 2010 the way Nicki Minaj did. Anyone who’s been a long-standing fan of the hip-hop world in recent years is no stranger to Minaj. She’s prolific. However, she has spent the past five years singing backup and making album cameos for the likes of Usher, Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. But, with the 2010 release of Pink Friday, her first solo album, Minaj asserted her ground in the hip-hop community, going platinum and showing the music industry that she’s good for more than just a guest verse.

Minaj garnered just as much attention for her eccentric style in 2010 as for her music (thanks in no small part to her stylist and Vibe Fashion Director Niki Schwan). She often performs in robotic-like ensembles that resemble futuristic space-age garb. Coupled with her proclivity for an ever-changing array of rainbow hair colors, Minaj’s style stands out more than that of any other female rapper in history. While her predessors Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown, both of whom Minaj sites as influences on her sound and look, pushed the envelope with their sex appeal, Minaj doesn’t seem to be aiming for sex kitten status. Rather, her blinged-out costumes and tendency toward bustiers and push-up bras liken her more to a super hero or some other non-human entity. In fact, Minaj says her style choices are influenced by the alter egos she has created for herself through the years—the same strong, other-worldly personas who helped her get through tough times growing up in Trinidad and her high school years in New York City.

Love or hate the see through pantsuit she wore to the Hot 97 Thanksgiving Concert, the Indian influenced  Manish Arora dress she wore to the American Music Awards or her dolled up ballerina inspired album cover one thing is for certain–Minaj is challenging Lady Gaga’s title as fashion provocateur of the moment.

–Carter Cramer