Nicki the Boss (also known as just Boss) is an alter ego of Nicki Minaj. She is described as the ingenious austere business woman that always thinks outside of the box and, most importantly, this boss lady is never afraid to assert herself.[1]
When Minaj was still struggling in the music industry, she talked a lot about getting money and being better than the other artists in the game. In an interview and freestyle from The Come Up DVD, around 2006, she rapped about how she is winning, how no one can compete with her, and how she is better than any other rapper in the game. She even showed a big pack of dollars and said "this is only to get my nails done" and "I use this to slap a hoe." This were the early stages of Boss.[2] In a song from her first mixtape "Jump Off '07" Nicki called herself "the boss"[3] for the first time, giving birth to a new alter ego who personality was already on Minaj. Boss has only been explicit mentioned by Minaj as her alter ego in her songs "Itty Bitty Piggy"[4] and "Beam Me Up Scotty"[5], and in Minaj's MySpace profile information, where she called Boss a character and a business woman.[1]
Nicki the Boss does not focus on her haters, critics or problems. Boss is concerned about earning money, and she will make what is necessary to earn it, even if she has to act in a temperamental way. She focus on the business first and everything else then. She also stated that in female rap, you act like a slave, and she does not want to act that way, she wants to demonstrate that she worth it.[6] She says that she have to act strong so people take her seriously, that she can not act like Barbie, who is sweet and kind.[7] Boss shows a disagreement with hip hop industry that tag females as "bitches" and males as "bosses" when they act assertive.[8]
Boss does not appear much in the Pink Friday and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded eras, since those were the ones where Minaj showed a sweeter image to appeal to the public, where her alter ego, The Harajuku Barbie, was the most used, to create the image of "Barbie" and, therefore, the strong and rude personality of Boss would not have created a good image in Minaj's career. From late 2012 to the present, Minaj begun to build her empire with the release of a variety of products and important issues such as her fragrance, American Idol judge, drink and clothing line. Therefore, her Boss personality was again needed to handle the big responsibilities she was affronting.[9]
Appearances[]
Songs[]
Boss does not have a particular rap style, unlike other alter egos, but she commonly appears (or at least is mentioned) in songs where Minaj raps about being the best and winning. The following is a list of possible appearances of Boss in songs:
Because Boss is also the "business" side of Minaj, she has also appeared in non-musical media. The following is a list of possible appearances of Boss in other media sources (TV, interviews, etc.):
