The year of Nicki Minaj – OPI, MAC and Vogue too

Get ready, Barbies, 2012 is the year of Nicki Minaj!

Last year was undoubtedly a huge year for the newly-crowned queen of hip-hop: her debut album Pink Friday went platinum and officially cemented her position as a serious rap artist.

This year, Miss Minaj will release the highly anticipated follow-up, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, where her alter ego Roman Zolanski will take centre stage, as well as embark on her first headline tour. That’s enough for most, but not Nicki.

The Super Bass singer is also making big waves in the fashion world and has been named a rising style muse by the New York Times. Her love of fashion is clear – she wears her favourite designers in her videos and on the red carpet and has even rapped about her love for Giuseppe Zanotti shoes on Kanye West’s ‘Monster.’ The designer reciprocated by creating Nicki-inspired sneakers, which she then rocked in Glamour magazine. With covers of ELLE, Cosmopolitan and W already under her belt, will 2012 be the year she lands that elusive American Vogue cover?

Nicki’s manager, Mr Bryant, certainly hopes so. In an interview with The Times, he stated that he is in talks with the fashion magazine and hopes Nicki will grace a Vogue cover this year. Bryant also plans to negotiate a deal with a fashion house so Minaj can create a fashion line.

With a striking style to rival even Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj is everywhere this year. Fashion, beauty, perfume… she plans to do it all.

Candy pink lips are synonymous with Nicki Minaj, so it makes perfect sense for her to be the face of MAC’s Viva Glam campaign – with a lipstick named Pink Friday in her honour. Replacing Lady Gaga as the Viva Glam spokeswoman for 2012, Minaj models the Viva Glam Nicki lipstick alongside Ricky Martin in an ad campaign where pink and flamboyance is abundant. The lipstick is released in February and proceeds go to MAC’s Aids Fund.

And there’s more – this January, Nicki Minaj introduced a limited edition nail polish collection in collaboration with OPI Nail Lacquer. Minaj is the latest celebrity to team up with OPI, following the likes of Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. Six stunning nail lacquers have been created in close collaboration with the singer. As for the colours, what else but bold and bright, inspired by Miss Minaj’s own characteristically daring style? Typical of OPI, each polish name is centred on a Nicki Minaj theme: “Fly” is a stunning aqua, “Metal 4 Life” is metallic silver, “Pink Friday,” of course, screams Nicki Minaj, and not forgetting the deep purple crackle effect top coat “Super Bass Shatter”.

What’s next for Nicki Minaj and her quest for worldwide Barbie domination? A clothing line is surely on the horizon and a fragrance deal is already in the works. One thing is for sure, Nicki Minaj is definitely not disappearing anytime soon – let’s face it, the future is pink!

Khaleda Rahman