Nicki Minaj Credits Her “Barbz” Fanbase For Bringing Stan Culture To Hip-Hop

Nicki Minaj gushed about her fierce fanbase, The Barbz, which she credited for influencing “stan culture” in Hip-Hop. While speaking at Vogue‘s Forces of Fashion event in NYC on Wednesday (Oct. 16), the Young Money vet explained how she set the standard for rap artists to connect with their fans. “Before I had a record deal, my fans were making a moment for themselves on Twitter. I had already given them a name,” she said. “When I started calling my fans the Barbz, there were no rappers naming their fans. There were only two people at that time, and I don’t know which came first — Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, they had Beliebers and Monsters. That was it!” She added, “Now, every single human being that becomes an artist gives their fans a name. Even artists in other countries. Some of the African artists that I love, when I would look into them, they would have names for their fanbase. And I was like, ‘Woah.’ I didn’t think it was something that would spread to the Hip-Hop community at all. But it doesn’t matter because the Barbz are still superior.” Nicki Minaj speaks at Vogue’s ‘Forces of Fashion’ event...