Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj Make Bad Music

Give me a chance before you hate me for the headline.

I personally hate when people tell celebrities/athletes who are clearly way more talented than them that they’re not talented. And that’s not what I intend to do.

Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift have more talent in their left pinkies than anyone reading this does in their entire body. So why do they make bad music than, James? Let me tell a story:

7:53 AM

I receive this ridiculous text from a family member who shall not be named (and may never be spoken to again). Hope I am enjoying Taylor Swift on this fine day? Are you freaking kidding me? Of course, I respond that she is a flaming pile of trash, as that is the only way to respond to such a ridiculous proposition.

You may be wondering how Nicki Minaj got involved here. Please see below:

Can’t stop thinking about the fact people seriously think Nicki Minaj deserves to be on a 2010’s Rap Mt. Rushmore over Future pic.twitter.com/4ht81BJxra

— James Santore (@JamesSantore) June 3, 2021

What does a frustrated 27-year-old with two semi-hot take do in such a situation? Combine the two and ask social media their thoughts, obviously. So I took to Twitter and made a statement:

Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj: the two most overrated artists of all time pic.twitter.com/aMwHiSgsFz

— James Santore (@JamesSantore) November 12, 2021

At that point, I immediately began to be assaulted (digitally) by stans. I then took the fight to Instagram, also known as the world’s largest (and most accurate) polling platform, and the results will shock you.

Over 60 people took part in this poll and it turns out only 56% of them have working ears. Shocking stuff.

So why do I (and apparently the majority of voters) think Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj make bad music even though they’re both extremely talented?

Because they don’t use their actual talent to make good songs. Instead, they make songs to please the general public, which is exactly who listens to their music. This is commonly referred to as “radio music” in my brain.

What is “radio music” exactly? Radio music is what you turn on when you want noise. You turn it on because your phone is dead, your bluetooth/aux isn’t working, and you can’t deal with silence while driving or sitting in a car or room. And you know what? Radio music freaking pays. And I for one am all for securing the bag.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating to see artists like Nicki and Taylor only use a quarter of their talents to appease the majority. Taylor has zero range outside of the same sound she puts out every time, and I attribute that more to her commitment to making radio music than an inability to actually do it.

Nicki is a little different in that she has exited the radio music world and hovered over the Rap/R&B border for a while now, but I for one think her rapping is so freaking awful that it actually detracts from the quality of her R&B music.

So yeah, that’s why I don’t think they make good music. They literally do not have to try to make good music, because they know that anything they put out that is easily consumed by the mainstream will give them the “success” they are looking for. All I am saying is that trying something new would really help two extremely talented artists grow from the same sounds they’ve had for over a decade and maybe cater to a new wave of fans.

One more poll for the people:

Over 75 people voted on this one and 69% are wrong (nice). Like I said in the above, at least Nicki has tried to show some range. I can’t say enough times how god awful her rapping is but she is one of (if not the) starters of the modern female rapper, and I do respect that.

Taylor Swift’s music just isn’t good. And that’s on Gritty. And if you disagree with me, well, take your anger out by listening to T Swift cry for two hours on that re-released album!

Anecdotal story: My first concert ever was a Nicki Minaj concert at BB&T Center in Camden, NJ as a Senior in high school. It was my first time leaving my parents basement and tasting the golden goodness that was Keystone Light, and excitement was sky high. That was until the skies opened up and down poured for two hours during the concert and all of Nicki’s set. Not only was I soaking wet and slightly buzzed, Nicki Minaj was angry rapping on stage. Nightmare fuel, folks.