So, I didn't watch the Grammys last night. I thought about tuning in for the Whitney Houston tribute. But something told me that I would have to sit through hours of extreme dullness just to see a rushed, half thought out attempt at  memorializing a legend and decided to wait until the Soul Train awards. Instead I watched the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead. Borefest.

Nevertheless, I caught the highlights of the awards earlier this morning including Nicki Minaj's performance, which many so eloquently classified as "WTF?!?!" Some folks thought it was demonic while others came to the conclusion that Minaj's reenactment of the Exorcism of Emily Rose during her Roman Holiday performance was just flat out exploitative. If you haven't seen the performance, here it is in all it's weird, confusing glory:

Forget all the other demonic stuff everybody else was talking about. In my mind that plays a very distant second (I mean no one was screaming demon when Michael Jackson was crawling out of tombs for Thriller) to the fact that it just wasn't hot. I have no beef with the theatrics, in fact I am a fan of the theater. And I get it, she is trying to be on some ole' Madonna-Gaga, big budget production stuff. Good for her. About time that Hip-Hop artists start giving their fans a show worthy of the high priced tickets. However to pull this off successfully I definitely believe she needs a better stage director. This mess looks like it was directed by Tyler Perry. Plus it was dated. The Exorcist is on its 1500th remake already, time to give it a rest.

At least, that's what I thought initially. Later that morning, I saw pictures of her red carpet get-up and had sort of an epitome:

Poor grammar aside (what's new, right?), it was an interesting and thoughtful question, which spurred an equally interesting conversation on my Facebook page. I think as people of color, it is especially hard to be taken serious if we step outside of the norm of what is expected of us. Especially among our own folks, who easily dismiss any attempt at being avant garde as pure buffoonery. With so much backlash Nicki has gotten for this performance, perhaps we are missing the greater message in the madness?  

With that in mind, I decided to republish our conversation here in hopes of continuing this dialog about the themes in both her performance at the Grammy as well as her overall aesthetic as an artist. Please note that I presented this dialog as it appeared on my Facebook wall, therefore I didn't edit any of the comments for spelling or grammatical errors. I feel that by now, we all should be keen on how casual and comfortable people tend to write in spaces populated by friends and family. However, I did edit out the full names of those who commented in hopes of maintaining some level of anonymity.

• Charing: Also, if you notice in the video montague that accompanied the performance, the mother kept referring to Nicki as him. And then the next scene is of her singing, "I feel pretty and witty and gay..." There could definitely be some political undertones to it all.13 hours ago · Like
• Sheena:  girl, please. looks like she was channeling lil red riding hood, trying to get her ghetto gaga on. two words: no, ma'am.13 hours ago · Unlike · 2
• Charing Ball Hahahahahaha. I said I might be overthinking things. Trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. I mean, we do think it is genius when Gaga and the likes pull these stunts and can find the subtle nuiances.13 hours ago · Like
• Malik:  ‎**Blink ** Blink** 13 hours ago · Unlike · 1
• Kool:  perhaps u have a point Ms Ball that performance and her outfit was tryna make some sort of statement ... very interesting all i can say13 hours ago · Unlike · 1
• Charing Ball that's what I'm saying Aaron, she was trying to say something. The execution of it was flawed.13 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball I mean, the lil' red riding hood, who was a innocent girl lost in the woods, being accompanied by the Pope, is pretty strong imagery.13 hours ago · Like · 1
• Charing Ball The Pope=wolf in sheep's clothing. Sheep is also another name for the congregation, faithful flock.13 hours ago · Like · 1
• Malik:  I just think that Nikki, of all people, all of a sudden being so overtly political and self righteous seems a bit far fetched. You ease into statements like that. Show us you have a political stance in previous records, and we can swallow what you have to say during a demonic Grammy performance as "Just vintage Nikki!" prior to this she talked about money and Barbie. Someone need to smack her.13 hours ago · Like
• Malik:  I think it had more to do with the molestation within the catholic church if anything.13 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: you are giving her too much credit :) It was an attack on the church no doubt. The dialogue was a fight between her and her mother. I agree that it was an act of rebellion and want to add disrespect. The priest performing sexual acts on the altar was a slap in the face and her sexual touch of the priest at the bottom of the steps was a punch in the gut. We always come back to this illuminati discussion, and performances like this are why. thoughts on illuminati presence in this performance and behind her actions?12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny:  I think she wasn't little red ridding hood, but more like a sacrifice. if you go the Red Riding hood route, then she is making the church out to be the big bad wolf.12 hours ago · Like
• Lezlee: Wasn't she using her alter ego "Roman"?12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball yeah I don't deal too much on the illuminati thing but that is interesting Johnny about the sacrifice angle. But I will say that while I agree that the whole thing would seem out of place with her prior MO, I do see some traces/elements of that with the whole Roman thing, who I am now convinced is an alter ego of a gay or boy in drag, and she has always been gay friendly in light of how she came out initially on the whole bisexual thing, something that she eventually backed away from. I think that the performance could be a reference to the whole, "pray the gay away" thing (again with the movie clip of the mother referring to Nicki as a him). I agree that, again, I could be giving her too much credit and want to believe that there is something more to her. I mean, after the Stupid Ho thing, it does seem far fetched. But my instincts are saying that she was really going for something more.12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball Roman. Ah another symbol that went over my head. Roman as in Roman Catholic/British Empire? Maybe that's why she does that stupid British voice.12 hours ago · Like
• Lezlee: I don't want to have to think this hard when I'm watching Nicki.12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny:  i think letting her do the altar ego thing is an out. we make statements in everyting we do. i to caught the "him" reference in the video, but saw that as a reference to the spirit that was in her that came out when she flew accross the room and landed on the ceiling.12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: Roman Catcholic. Roman holiday is saying she needs a break from religion12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball Right. And there is no more confining religion than the Catholic church, I know this thanks in part to my own West Indies, from long ago, roots.12 hours ago · Like
• Charing Ball ‎*West Indies and Catholic*12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: it does go much deeper than the Catholic church, but going after them makes the largest statement. i looked up the lyrics and one of them said, "overseas, church, Vatican, you at a stand still, mannequin"12 hours ago · Like · 1
• Charing Ball Interesting. So Johnny, so I read last night your thread. Does this kind of change your mind about her performance?12 hours ago · Like
• Johnny: Not so much, but I think that it was less performance and more of a statement. There are politics in everything we see, but this was not just a political statement. The key to catching the piece was the words Exorcism of Roman at the beginning. That explained the scene and gives a direction for interpretation.12 hours ago · Like · 1
• Charing Ball I'll tell you one thing, after thinking about it, and conversing with you guys, it was definitely a mutli-layered performance and can't just be dismissed as cheap Gaga (LOL). I'll probably be thinking about this all day. And I'm thinking of blogging on my own personal blog this conversation. I won't use your names, unless you want me too (I can also do a link back to any sites you want to promote) because I think it is an interesting and thoughtful conversation that folks could get something out of.12 hours ago · Like

Overall I definitely see a number of themes in the Grammy night performance worth discussing. I think that there are lots of things going on within the stage show and because of it, the various themes get muddled. That is a performance flaw. However, looking at it objectively I don't think it is fair to outright dismiss what she was ultimately trying to achieve because she is typically not the person we expect to make statements within her art. If what I'm an concluding is correct, there may be more to Minaj than we give her credit for. And I will be interested in seeing what she does in the future.