eyeWatch: The Miss-Education of a Barbie

The greatest thing about being HUMAN, is being able to have an opinion, a voice. Jasmine Mans is a young lady no different from the rest of us, but she does have a way with words. When playing the game of "Truth or Dare", many of us opt for the easy way out and say "truth"; while some are brave enough to take on a challenge. I'll say that Miss Mans knocked out two birds with one poem on the topic of Nicki Minaj and her "Barbiefication". The Miss-Education of a Barbie" is a call to action not only for Nicki Minaj but, to all women in the entertainment industry. Jasmine says: I do not want Nicki Minaj to be the next Lauryn Hill or MC Lyte, I want her to rap as if women like Assata Shakur and Toni Morrison exist. The "Miss-Education of a Barbie" questions the message that Nicki Minaj is relaying to her listeners. If Nicki Minaj seeks to simply entertain audiences with shallow concepts then my poem can be written off as irrelevant to her and her fans alike. However, if she seeks to make a difference in musical history and in the lives of her fans around the world then my piece questions her methods of doing so.

Jasmine goes on to say, My poem targets Nicki Minaj because I am a long time fan and follower of her work. I recognize and applaud her lyrical abilities and the affect she has on women older and younger than myself. If we, as an audience, do not hold up a mirror to our artists, then who will? Her "Barbie" image is an objectification of womanhood. How can we expect our male rappers to pay homage and respect to women when the voice that is representing us is tainted with sexual innuendos and “child’s play?”. W.E.B. DuBois said all art is propaganda and should be used to uplift and challenge the African American community, and if art does not do such it is useless. Nicki Minaj is too powerful to be useless. I dare Nicki Minaj to be a PHENOMENAL WOMAN and not a phenomenal "Barbie." Take a look at Jasmine's performance of "The Miss-Education of a Barbie". Happy watching!


Video Link

Was she not speaking something we a lot of people were thinking?! Please COMMENT!

To check out more of Jasmine's videos, click here.

♥ t i f f a n y
Spread Love. Live life. Be Inspired.

6 comments:

  1. Ja said...:

    Whoa!!!! That poem is something serious. All of the girl/young ladies of our younger generation NEED to hear this.

  1. YES !!!!!!! Thank you ladies of elleElleelle for blowing this story up & raising awareness of Young, & Older African American women.

  1. DANiE said...:

    SHE WENT IN! So true tho ::snap snap snap:: imma have to listen to that again

  1. LT said...:

    I respect Nicki and I think she is extremely talented. But I definitely respect this young lady more. When you have the power, the encourage you give to other should be for them to better themselves. It's ashame that she's encouraging young ladies and girls to aspire to be superficial. It's degrading

  1. Fash!on!sta said...:

    She went deep. Fash!on!sta approved!

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