Despite what many people may think, Nicki Minaj has proven to be an ultra-feminist many times before, but with "Anaconda" she is really making it clear. "Anaconda" is clearly a parody, both satirizing and disproving the hyper-sexualization of women's bodies in hip-hop.
Although it only samples one line from the song, Nicki is actually reclaiming the whole underlying theme of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" by flipping it around into the female perspective and taking charge of her own sexuality rather than giving the power to the man, which is the way it was in the original song and has been in rap music for years.
REWIND: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Booty In Music
There are many explicit examples of how this idea of female dominance is expressed in the video. As she is pours whipped cream all over her body, Nicki eats a banana but then slices the fruit in half like a martial artist ending his or her latest opponent. At the end of the video, Nicki spends what seems like forever giving Drake a lap dance, teasing him with her humongous tushie. However, when Drake tries to touch it, she swats his hand and walks away, leaving him sitting in a chair contemplating his whole life purpose.
His anaconda "don't want none unless you got buns, hun." Well quite frankly, Nicki doesn't have to give those buns to you, and she knows that. Yes, her butt is huge, but it's so big, so bold, that it just might be able to crush you.
Then there's Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass." The basic message put forward in this playful song is that every single part of whatever body type you may have is perfect. It's a positive-body-image anthem that actually resonates within a similar realm of "Anaconda." How so? Well, it's all about that booty, booty.
Both "All About That Bass" and "Anaconda" explicitly depict big butts in a positive way, something that has never really been done in the mainstream music world. Trainor's megahit even goes as far as saying that men prefer fat booties to skinny ones. Ultimately, it's all about making people feel good, and seeing that the song is sitting comfortably at No. 1 on the Billboard charts right now -- and has been for six weeks and counting -- it's clearly working.
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