Last year, hardcore fans of Nicki Minaj – the ‘Barbz’ – were praised for unleashing their creativity with AI-generated art to promote the rapper’s latest album, Pink Friday 2.
However, it looks like the general public soon grew tired of the inauthenticity of AI art. Now, users on social media are mocking Nicki Minaj herself for sharing what appears to be an AI-generated artwork to promote her upcoming single, ‘Press PLAY’, on Instagram.
The AI art depicted a hand holding a pink button with a play symbol, against a pink background.
Nicki Minaj feat. AI art: Why are fans upset?
Throughout her decade-long career, Minaj is known for delivering colourful visuals in her music videos, as well as memorable red carpet looks. Her brand is also closely associated with the colour pink, as it signifies her success in fusing bright, feminine aesthetics with hip-hop.
Shortly after Minaj shared the above artwork, fans quickly noticed a grave mistake with the alleged AI-generated image: the depiction of the hand contained six fingers instead of five.
Fans described the rapper’s decision to share the artwork as “disappointing”. Many highlighted the hypocrisy of Minaj, an artist known for spitting out freestyle rap verses on the spot, for endorsing AI art – a style of artwork that’s long been slammed by traditional artists to be a form of theft.
“[Nicki] has talked about how important it is, for her as an artist, to at least write her own stuff. So to see her turn to AI to generate art in a different medium is so…,” wrote a user on X.
Others mocked and accused Minaj and her team of being “lazy” and not spending enough funds to market her music. Del Walker, a senior artist for Naughty Dog, the game developer responsible for The Last of Us 2, also explained how using AI art damages a brand’s image.
“It sends out a message that you’ve got no budget. It’s the digital equivalent of wearing an obviously fake Chanel bag. Your whole brand immediately appears feeble and impoverished,” he said.
The rapper responds
However, Minaj herself did not seem to be phased with the criticism. On X, the rapper responded to a fan’s post: “Let’s find you 6 d**ks now. To [suck],”
Another fan also alleged that Minaj shared even more AI-generated images that promoted ‘Press PLAY’ on Instagram.
Nicki Minaj’s latest single, ‘Press PLAY’ featuring Future, is out now.
