Talk:Nicki Minaj/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Pyrotec (talk) 06:54, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

I will review. Pyrotec (talk) 06:54, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Initial comments

I've had a quick look at the body of the article, but I've ignored the WP:Lead at this stage and I've not checked any of the references, on this basis the article appears to be at or about GA-level. I'm now going to work my way through the article, starting at Early life working my way to the end and then going back to do the Lead. This may take or day or so. Pyrotec (talk) 20:50, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

• Early life -

• This looks OK, but I would like to make a comment about Note 1. It currently states: ".... The most definitive source, however, is the official Dallas Police Report from July 2011 which states her birthdate is 12/08/1982". Well the ref (ref 1) shows a redacted copy of part of the Dallas Police Report; and I assume that Nicki Minaj stated her DOB, but it might not have been checked (at that stage/if at all). I believe that all that can be claimed is (in my words, its not compulsory to use them) ... The most reliable source, however, is a redacted copy of the official Dallas Police Report from July 2011 which states her birthdate is 12/08/1982". (There is more than one use of the word redacted - I'm refering to the "hiding" of some information by printing a block of black ink over that information).

Waiting for someone more intimate with this article to make this decision.--Thevampireashlee (talk) 10:28, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

 Done - Went ahead and made the changes anyway. Yolo. lol. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 10:31, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Great. Thanks. Pyrotec (talk) 11:11, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

• Music career -
  • 2004–2007: Career beginnings -

• There is an overlap/repeat of information given in the previous section. Early life has: ... Nicki had a passion to become an actress, but failed at attempts to pursue her career due to the lack of roles she received, and agents. In 2001, she was cast in the off-Broadway play, "In Case You Forget".[19] After her acting career failed to take off, Minaj worked at Red Lobster in the Bronx at the age of 19 as a waitress and purchased her first vehicle, a BMW.[20] Other jobs Minaj held were administrative assistant, customer service, an an office manager position at an unknown business located on Wall Street.[21][22] and this subsection starts off: Minaj was fired from Red Lobster because of her discourteousness to other customers. She had been fired from at least fifteen jobs for similar antics.[23]. After, Minaj rapped in a foursome ....

 Done - --Thevampireashlee (talk) 10:28, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Great. Thanks. Pyrotec (talk) 11:13, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

• A decision aught to be made about what is Early life and what is music Career, and the information placed in the relevant section/subsection.

• I'm not sure, but this does not appear to be a sentence: After, Minaj rapped in a foursome group called "Hoodstars" (stylized Hood$tars or H.O.O.D.S.T.A.R.S), which consisted of group members Scaff Beezy, Lou$tar, and 7even Up.[24]. It could mean: After trying other work/jobs <talk your pick>, Minaj rapped in a foursome group called "Hoodstars" ..... This statement should be the start of this paragraph, as everything else in the paragraph follows on from this - its all about rapping/music (and change of "stage name").

 Done - --Thevampireashlee (talk) 10:28, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Great. Thanks. Pyrotec (talk) 11:13, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

• • 2007–09: Mixtapes and Young Money & 2010–11: Pink Friday -

• These two subsections look OK.

• • 2011–present: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded -

• The final part of the final sentence in the fourth paragraph: Dates have been rescheduled and tickets can be found on LiveNation and Ticketmaster.[67] reads like WP:SPAM#External link spamming. I have no problem with the citation being used to confirm the rescheduled dates, but it cannot be used to promote ticket sales. Pyrotec (talk) 11:23, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

 Done It now reads → "Dates have since been rescheduled." Jennie | ☎ 13:47, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Great. Thanks. Pyrotec (talk) 19:22, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

• Otherwise OK.

• Artistry -

...Stopping for now. To be continued later. Pyrotec (talk) 11:43, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

• As the article was changed on 20 August 2012 by this series of edits, I'll re-review the article from the beginning of Life and career.

• Life and career -
  • 1982–2002: Early life -

• The first sentence of the first paragraph states: Onika Tanya Maraj was born December 8, 1982, yet Note 1 states that Minaj's birthyear has been reported in various media outlets as being 1984. As this is a biography of a living person (see Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons), and there is uncertainly when she was born a WP:Reliable source, should be provided to support this claim. Note: a redacted copy of a "crime report" published on web page does not constitute a reliable source.

 Done Probably the most talked about thing on the Talk-page and it's frequency of discussion caused me to put up a notice about any future requests to edit it, although I can understand the confusion. I think that Minaj may have lied in the early part of her career (and this has spread across the internet) as she allegedly claimed that she was born in 1984 rather than 1982. I tried to find a source when preparing the article for GA review but I found a lot of conflicting views. I am pretty certain that she is born in 1982, and have explained this in an edit request (Talk:Nicki Minaj#Birthdate)), the problem was finding a WP:RS that supported this. I've now removed the Dallas Police Report and replaced it with a source from MTV, which describes Minaj celebrating her 29th birthday in 2011. Jennie | ☎ 20:20, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

The problem is that the article is dated Wednesday, 14 December 2011 and all it states is that "Nicki Minaj received a special treat for her 29th birthday, as Madonna and M.I.A. celebrated her big day on the set of their new music video ....", so she was probably born in December 1982. Pyrotec (talk) 10:25, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Hmm. Do you think it might be worth replacing the lead and first sentence with Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982 or 1984), better known as Nicki Minaj? There is just no reliable way of proving either way. Although I said I was sure about it being 1982, I was searching around and in an interview last year, an interviewer suggested her age being 26 and she didn't bother to correct her. I think things might become more clear in December, as news outlets/fans may go ahead and wish her a Happy 30th (a milestone) - her reaction may be helpful. But, for now? Jennie | ☎ 11:47, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

That would be OK. I was quite happy with the Note 1 that was present back here. The problem was the later edits whcih stated, without any reliable sources to back it up, that she was born on a certain date. I should point out, I have no personal preference between the two years and if there is no definitive answer I'd rather see a note saying that there is a difference of opinion in the various citations. Pyrotec (talk) 15:34, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

• • 2010–11: Pink Friday and mainstream success -

• This subsection title lacks neutrality, and appears to be non-compliant with Wikipedia:Neutral point of view.
• The first sentence of the final paragraph appears to be non-compliant with Wikipedia:Neutral point of view. It states: "Minaj gained major success with the release of her single "Super Bass", ever since popular teen idols Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift showed their love of the song. Minaj and Swift performed the song on her Fearless Tour". It should be edited to comply with Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, or removed.

• The citation given for this is a raw web link, which appears to be a blog. A Blog site is not regarded as a WP:Reliable Source and as a raw web link, it is not properly cited.

 Done changed the wording and source. Jennie | ☎ 20:20, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

 Done removed "mainstream success" from the sub-header on the grounds of WP:NPOV and WP:BLP. The source regarding her writing two books has been replaced with one from Capital FM. I believe that's the last edit we needed to fix from this new batch. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 23:14, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

At this point, as the latest edits appear to lack neutrality and possibly are non-compliant with Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons, I'm putting the review On Hold. Pyrotec (talk) 19:47, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

• • 2012–present: New projects and American Idol -

• Looks OK.

• Artistry -
  • Public image -

• The second paragraph has two {{unreliable source?}} flags.

 Comment: - 93 is a personal blog and 94 is a Nicki Minaj fan site. I looked up and down for a reliable source and fell short. We may need to remove these two sentences altogether. --Thevampireashlee (talk) 14:06, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

 Done Think I'll remove this, I couldn't find any sources either, if one comes along, I'll re-add it. I'm sure someone will bring it up on the talk page in the future. Jennie | ☎ 19:08, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

 Comment: - I found one mention of it, but it's obscure. Check the 37th image in the gallery on this MSNBC article. [1] --Thevampireashlee (talk) 00:37, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

• • Alter egos, Rapping technique & Influences -

Generally OK, but ref 129 (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1691906/nicki-minaj-foxy-brown-influence.jhtml) is a raw web link.

 Done #129 is now fully cited. Jennie | ☎ 11:38, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

• Other ventures -
  • Products and endorsements -

• Looks OK.

• Personal life -

• Its not clear what ref 152 is: possibly "Maraj, Onika, Tyler Williams, Nikhil Seetharam, Aubrey Graham, and Jay Jenkins, Jones, Nasir. Champion" are authors. 2012. N.p.: Is "Young Money, Cash Money" the title (in which case its usually in italics) and "Universal Republic" the publisher? Note: 2012 appears twice.

 Done Someone has listed the writers/producers of the track "Champion" as a source. I've provided two RS and more text. Jennie | ☎ 13:28, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, the replacement Ref 152 and the new Ref 153 are much clearer than one old 152. Pyrotec (talk) 15:59, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

• • Feud with Lil' Kim -

• Refs 166 & 167 are the same. Why not use ref 166 twice?

 Done Changed so there is now one ref. Jennie | ☎ 11:38, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

...Stopping for now. To be continued later. Pyrotec (talk) 11:21, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

It also appears again at ref 171.

 Done corrected also. Jennie | ☎ 18:51, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

• WP:Lead -

• Its a possibly a bit "thin" for an article of this length, but it's just about acceptable.
• It's also got that definitive DOB - (born December 8, 1982) and I don't think there is a WP:RS for that at present.
• Note: the Infobox is also quoting the same date using, as a citation, that redacted police report in the TMZ.

 Done I've sourced both dates of birth reliably. I've opened a discussion on the talk page amongst the other editors to decide to either provide both years or keep either; I'm guessing the we'll come to a decision after the GA nomination process and so when one is made, it will either remain the same or I will remove the other source. Thanks. Jennie | ☎ 19:08, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Pyrotec (talk) 15:59, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Overall summary

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

1. Is it reasonably well written?

   A. Prose quality:

   B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists:

2. Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

   A. References to sources:

   B. Citation of reliable sources where necessary:

   Well referenced

   C. No original research:

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. Major aspects:

   B. Focused:

4. Is it neutral?

   Fair representation without bias:

5. Is it stable?

   No edit wars, etc:

6. Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?

   A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:

   Nine images, two of which are non-free and seven free.

   B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail:

I'm please to be able to award this article GA-status. Thanks to all those editors with to persistence to get this article through numerous "false starts" and hurdles. Well done. Pyrotec (talk) 08:18, 24 August 2012 (UTC)