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Today, just a few hours ago, Nicki Minaj unveiled a new line of QSA merchandise that can be purchased on her website nickiminajqueen.com.
What does QSA stand for you may be asking yourself?
Queen Security Administration!
The new merchandise?
A line of back packs, t-shirts and windbreakers adorned with the words "Nicki Stopped My Bag".
This is, of course, in response to Cardi B and other female artists' allegations that Nicki Minaj is trying to stop them from working with other artists, winning awards, or even securing songs for their own projects; behind the scenes . In other words, Nicki is being accused of stopping other female artists (Remy Ma, Bacardi, K. Michelle among others) from making money (aka securing the bag).
Whether you believe Cardi or not, you have to admit, this is pure genius and, I believe, a powerful message for us all. Queens, there is never going to be a moment where everyone in the universe approves of you. If you're waiting for the day, you better get comfortable. There will always be one person who thinks you're a failure, who thinks you're problematic, who thinks you're ugly, unworthy, stupid, etc. The truth is, the more successful you become, the more people will talk, the more people will project their negativity and insecurities on to you.
It sucks. It's unfair. But it comes with the territory.
Your job is to ignore the haters. Keep doing you and working to make your star shine brighter.
This advice is easier said then done. I know. That is why today's #Bold blog post is all about listening to the haters and using their hatorade to make lemonade!
The #NickiMinajHateTrain has been in full effect for quiet some time now. Snide remarks, accusations, and shoes have been thrown left to right. Either she's too crazy, too loud, too famous, too guarded, or too ungrateful. Everybody has something to say about Nicki Minaj and what she should be doing and how she should be handling her haters. It's ridiculous. I'm getting tired just spectating from the sidelines. I know she's exhausted.
In recent weeks, Nicki has been taking a different approach in clapping back at her haters. Two weeks ago, she fueled the hashtag #NickiStoppedMyBag which has turned into a hilarious meme.
Today's announcement just tops the cake. What Nicki has done here is flipped the situation on it's head and made money off of the very thing her haterz are trying to bring her down for.
This isn't the first time a Queen has been this wonderfully petty and I'm convinced Nicki was inspired. Back in 2016, Beyonce was accused of hating the police after performing at the Superbowl with her dancers dressed in Black Panther inspired costumes. While the moment was supposed to be one of pride in who she was as an african american woman. Many people, including police officers, took the gesture as a sign that Beyonce is anti-police and decided to Boycott working security for her #FormationWorldTour dates.
Instead of feeding into the negativity, Beyonce profited off of it and sold #BoycottBeyonce merchandise at each of her tour stops.
In fact, Beyonce is the Queen of profiting off of her haterz joy. When haterz started to chastise her back in 2000 for all the drama behind LeToya and LaTavia being replaced in Destiny's Child, she turned around and wrote a song called Survivor. That song became one of Destiny's Child biggest hits and is a classic to this day. Hell the entire Lemonade album is a stunt on both Jay Z and Becky with the good hair.
But you don't have to be Beyonce or Nicki Minaj, for that matter, to turn your haterz projected failure on you into success. Kheris Rogers was bullied in school for her dark chocolate skin color. She now owns her own clothing line and is a successful model.
Even I have had my fair share of people doubting my intelligence or my will to succeed and I've had to put them in their place by succeeding anyways. I am immediately reminded of all the back lash I received from most of the campus, students, staff, and professors alike, of Chapman University when I was planning the first ever Black Graduation. This now, annual event at Chapman, three years after my graduation, is a bonus celebration for african american students to highlight their victory in beating the odds stacked against them and earning a degree from a 4 year university.
Whether you know or not, you have also done this, probably on multiple occasions. When you got a new job less than a week after being fired from the old one, turning your unemployment into a vacation. When you took time for your self after that bad break up and came back on the scene looking damn fine and shining in your glow up. When your competitor tried to turn everyone against you with lies and deceit but you took the high road and beat them on the playing field. Every time you get right back up when some one knocks you down. Better yet, every time you refused to be knocked down, you have shitted on your haters with golden nuggets of success.
Still, if you need a refreshing crash course on how to flip the script on your haters, here's the only three things you need to know:
1. Embrace your Haters
There will always be one Queen. Tamera Mowry-Housley shared some advice her mother gave her on an episode of #TheReal a while back. Her mom said, "Once you have a hater, congratulations, you've made it."
If that isn't the truth, I don't know what is. There will always be nay sayers, negative nancies and debby downers. Don't look at your haters as a negative though. That's what they want you to do. Instead, embrace them. They are obviously mad that you're shining and they're not. So keep shining. Every now and then stop and give them a smile, let them know that you see them, and keep going. Revel in the fact that you're doing something right and headed down the right path.
2. Stay Focused and Keep Working
Never reciprocate your haters' negativity. Always be positive with them and show them love and respect. This will make sure that you will come out on top, regardless of their treachery.
Keep hitting the lab and working on your craft. Haters hate because they want to see you stop. They don't like that you're doing something that they can't or they won't do. They want to see you fail. Haters will give you all the negativity they hold in their tiny bodies and will rejoice when you finally crack under the pressure. Don't give them the satisfaction. Recognize them, but keep it moving. As Tamera's mom said, you're doing something right when the haters start to pop up. So keep going...all the way to the bank.
3. Recognize and Sieze Opportunities for Prosperity without Delay
A couple of weeks ago, Chrissel from the hit podcast #TheRead actually made the suggestion that Cardi B should sale merchandise with the words "Sympathy and Payola" on them in response to Nicki Minaj's rant about her on Queen Radio. She was trying to shine light on a opportunity Cardi had at turning this ugly situation between her and Nicki into something beautiful.
Always look for the positive in every negative situation. Within positivity lies opportunities for more positivity.
Multiple rappers took their careers into their own hands and started their own record labels or stayed unsigned and still made it big on their own. Artists like Jay Z, Drake, Chance the Rapper, and Tyler the Creator saw an opportunity in all the no's they kept receiving from record labels. If no one was willing to give them a chance, they would have to give it to themselves.
Both Kim Kardashian and Safaree have made a living off of being exposed to the world. No matter how you feel about Kim Kardashian, you can't deny that she embraced her sex tape and turned her naked body into a house hold taboo. Safaree announced, just last month, that he has worked with a company to create intimate toys based off of his genitalia that would be sold online.
Find the positive spin on the negative story your hater is spinning and flip that into success.
How have you shitted on your haters lately? Let me know in the comment section below!
It's a beautiful day to conquer the world. So go forth and slay!
-Queen Maree
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 5, 2018