Why can't we give people their flowers while they can still smell 'em? As a general rule, we as a population take things for granted way too frequently. We should be living in the present and realizing how special everything around us truly is, celebrating artists when they achieve amazing accomplishments. Some artists do end up getting high praise from the public but, for the most part, we wait until they pass away to fully allow ourselves to reflect on their legacies. Nicki Minaj has been critical of the way her career has been viewed as of late, retiring from the game and building a family with her husband Kenneth Petty. She feels as though she's been disrespected by the media after all that she contributed to hip-hop and, in many ways, she's absolutely right. Russ would agree, hitting up the Rap Radar podcast this week to discuss respect, singling out a few artists.
Speaking to Elliott Wilson and Brian B. Dot Miller, the world-renowned Russ explained why he believes it's important for us as a community to place Nicki Minaj (and others) on a pedestal for what they've built. "I see it and it’s insane to me," said the artist about how some of his peers are viewed in the media. "You look at how the world is doing T-Pain when he put up that thing about his tour. Lil Wayne and DMX and Nicki. I just think it’s insane, the disrespect and the dismissiveness that people have. We all know that if DMX, Lil Wayne, Nicki, and T-Pain passed away today, it would fuck the world up. Why can’t you have that level of respect while they’re here?"
Russ then went on to speak directly about Minaj, telling the hosts that she deserves a lot more than what she's been dealt. "I understand you might not like certain things they’re saying, but you can’t just dismiss a whole career," he said. "You can’t dismiss the fact that Nicki was the biggest female rapper for a whole fucking decade straight. Y'all can’t even last a fucking summertime. This girl was the biggest, most successful female rapper for 10 years. You know how hard that is? Motherfuckers struggle to last two months."
Like him or not, he's got a strong point. Of all people, Russ knows about how strongly influenced people are from what they see online. Let's make an effort to treat our idols well, reminding them of how impactful they've been during their storied careers.