In anticipation of her new album, the rapper Nicki Minaj has assured fans for months on social media that they would be “going to Gag City” — and they took it
literally.
Minaj’s online fan base used generative artificial intelligence to create a fictional city, creating and sharing images of metropolises with the same pink,
dreamlike aesthetic featured in the cover art for her album “Pink Friday 2,” which comes out Friday.
The rise of generative AI has put powerful tools in the hands of millions, allowing them to generate just about anything they can think of. In this case, those tools in the hands of one of the internet’s most rabid fan bases have resulted in the community creation of a fictional world that has gotten enough traction that even major brands are participating.
It all started in September, when Minaj uncovered the artwork for the album, which features her in a surreal sky train heading toward a pink city. Minaj and her fans, known as the Barbz, embraced the imagery.
Minaj and the Barbz began referring to the lead-up to the album as a journey to Gag City, a reference to the LGBTQ slang term “gag,” meaning to be awestruck by something.
Late last month, some fans started to visualize Gag City using AI, generating images of metropolises featuring the same pink and dreamlike aesthetic.
As Friday’s release date quickly approached, Minaj played into the AI renderings of Gag City and told her fans on X to “prepare for landing.”