Nicki Minaj has never been one to bite her tongue, and in a candid new interview with Time magazine, she is once again saying exactly what is on her mind, and this time about politics, power, and the people she feels pushed her toward the MAGA movement.
And the names she is dropping? Jay-Z and Barack Obama.
Nicki did not hold back when it came to the music mogul. She claimed there is a "large but quiet resentment" toward Jay-Z simmering within parts of the rap industry and alleged that he actively attempted to sabotage her career. She also pointed to his well-documented close friendship with former President Barack Obama as part of her wider frustrations with what she sees as an interconnected world of Black celebrity influence and Democratic Party politics.
Nicki also took direct aim at comments Obama made during the 2024 election campaign, in which he appeared to suggest that some Black male voters were uncomfortable casting their ballots for Kamala Harris.
She called the remarks "condescending" and said moments like that cemented her frustration with the expectation that Black entertainers should automatically and unquestioningly fall in line behind the Democratic Party.
"Why do we have to?" seems to be the spirit behind her words. And for Nicki, that question became a turning point.
According to the rapper, after she began publicly criticising Democrats, she found herself welcomed with open arms by prominent figures within the MAGA movement, including the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
That reception, she says, encouraged her to lean further into the movement rather than step back from it.
She also recently showed off what she described as a "Trump Gold Card", claiming it was gifted to her personally by Donald Trump and allegedly grants her certain citizenship privileges. The claim has raised more than a few eyebrows online.
As expected, the internet has been split right down the middle.
Supporters have praised Nicki for speaking her truth and refusing to be boxed into a political identity simply because of her race or industry.
Critics, on the other hand, have questioned the accuracy of some of her claims and pushed back hard on her political alignment.