Tschabalala Self MFA ’15 recently painted an image of Nicki Minaj for the December 2023 digital cover of Vogue.
On the collaboration, Vogue writes, “when we asked Tschabalala to do a portrait of Nicki for Vogue’s December digital cover—using photographer Norman Jean Roy’s cover shoot [of the print edition] as a starting point—she was surprised and electrified by the idea, and maybe just a tad concerned about the Barbz, Nicki’s idolising and hyper-vocal fan base, whose members are ready to do battle with whatever anyone says about her.” But Self was up for the task. She said, “I love Nicki Minaj. She is my favourite rapper. I am a Barb, so I was pretty thrilled to be asked,” she said.
Photo Credit: Nicki Minaj by Tschabalala Self, courtesy Vogue