TIME reveals “Most Influential People” 2016 List.
The 2016 edition of TIME Magazine’s annual “Most Influential People” was just revealed today, and issue featured cover stories from the likes of Nick Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Leonardo DiCaprio, Priyanka Chopra, Adele and more. All of which had some pretty notable people do profiles on them. Nicki Minaj’s cover featured her Young Money boss, Lil Wayne, who wrote a very touching letter about the Queen Barb, recalling the first time he met her and how much potential he saw in her from the first time he set eyes on her.
Below you can read Wayne’s entire letter about Ms. Minaj, as well as a few of the other profiles from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Adele, Ryan Coogler, Priyanka Chopra, Barack Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Head over to TIME now to see the other individual profiles on people such as Stephen Curry by Misty Copeland, Lin-Manuel Miranda by J.J. Abrams, Ariana Grande by Jason Robert Brown, Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Lena Dunham, Idris Elba by David Simon, Taraji P. Henson by Lee Daniels and many, many more.
Nicki Minaj “Chart breaker” by Lil Wayne
You know, in New York they used to have these street DVDs. It just so happened that I appeared in one, and when I looked at the finished product, Nicki Minaj was on a part of the DVD. I was like, “Woooooow!” She was just being Nicki without the glitz and glamour. When I heard the first two and four bars, it wasn’t even about her rapping better than any female rapper. It was about, man, she’s rapping better than other rappers—period.
I always wanted more for my artists and saw Nicki’s potential from the first moment I laid eyes on her. She’s reached far beyond everything I would have imagined. Man, she’s so influential and doing all the right things. She’s an icon, a boss and a role model to all these young girls out here on how to do it the right way. Her work ethic speaks volumes and has yielded these results. The scary thing is she’s still going. Ha! Nicki Minaj will go down as one of the best to do it in the history of music.
Kendrick Lamar “He moves us” by Alicia Garza
The first time I heard To Pimp a Butterfly was on a crowded plane heading to Jackson, Miss. With headphones on, there I was, bobbing my head and having audible conversations with myself because that album made me feel—moved and troubled, challenged, uplifted, angry, skeptical and raw. Far from creating “conscious rap,” Kendrick Lamar has evolved a new genre of movement music that asserts no answers but raises hard questions and brings us together to take them on. Thank God for his trip to South Africa, which he says made him want to put everything he was seeing and experiencing into an album that could translate that experience to someone in the ghettos of Compton, Calif. Kendrick should be applauded for inviting us to face things that are uncomfortable, for celebrating our will to survive and for being audacious enough to grapple with the questions that we all need to answer if we ever hope to get free.
Adele “International treasure” by Jennifer Lawrence
Adele and I met at the Oscars in 2013. I remember sneaking backstage while she performed “Skyfall,” trying to squeeze a ball gown past a pile of ropes and cables just to get a little closer. See her from another angle as if to peek behind the Great Oz’s curtain. I had been a fan of hers since “Chasing Pavements” (saying “fan” about Adele always sounds like an understatement, doesn’t it?). Then when 21 came out, mine and billions of other lives were—not to sound dramatic—changed. Suddenly there were words to that before-indescribable pain, frustration, sadness, then revolution that all comes from a breakup. I felt understood, I felt stronger, and above all, I hadn’t sung in front of a mirror with a hairbrush since Destiny’s Child.
Then she goes and does something like 25. Growing up. Changing in some ways and being stuck forever in others. Being so young with the most successful career in the world. She says, “I wish I could live a little more, look up to the sky, not just the floor.” The way she is able to capture herself, and then in turn us, has turned her into a star that’s not a star we look at, but a giant star with its own gravity that we are drawn to. All of this about her lyrics, and I haven’t even gotten started on the voice—how could I? It’s once-in-a-lifetime. All this about her voice and I won’t have time to talk about her intelligence. Her 500-year-old wisdom. Her patience and kindness all wrapped up in the tough skin of a damn gangster.
She’s an extremely private person, so I will do my best to honor her privacy. But we all see her success. Her undeniable talent and beauty. But what you don’t see is what a wonderful mother she is. What a wonderful partner and friend she is. That she makes her son’s Halloween costumes. Adele is a gift, an international treasure, but she’s also sweet, funny, intelligent and beautiful. Bitch.
Ryan Coogler “The filmmaker we need” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
There is a beautiful scene in Ryan Coogler’s Creed that captures what this young director proposes to his art form and to his country. The boxer and protagonist, Donnie (Michael B. Jordan), is running, in gray sweats, to see his ailing trainer, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). A clutch of neighborhood kids on dirt bikes and ATVs trail him like a Greek chorus. As Donnie picks up speed, Meek Mill’s “Lord Knows” blares in the background. At the height of his sprint, Donnie screams in agony and joy as Meek gives way to soft pianos, big horns and triumphant vocals. Time slows, Donnie’s hood chorus surrounds him, and our eyes are drawn to a boy popping a wheelie with his left hand extended in the air.
All the beauty the Academy cannot see is in this one scene. That beauty, so often denied, is the stuff of Coogler’s work. This is not a matter of looking pretty—though that is part of it—so much as a matter of looking human. That is why Ryan Coogler is so necessary right now. On the biggest screen, he confers humanity and beauty on people told they are innately without it.
Priyanka Chopra “A star rising higher” by Dwayne Johnson
Before ever meeting Priyanka Chopra, I had heard her name coming out of Bollywood and was impressed: she was beautiful, talented, had made nearly 50 movies, earned multiple awards—a massive star. When we connected around the time she started Quantico, we immediately hit it off. She has drive, ambition, self-respect, and she knows there’s no substitute for hard work. We always quote the saying “Wear your success like a T-shirt, not like a tuxedo,” and she really does—as big a star as she is, as global as she is, as beautiful as she is, there’s this interesting quality of relatability.
Now I’m lucky enough to be working with her on Baywatch. It’s an amazing time to watch as she pierces the U.S. market. She has an ability to inspire people to do more and achieve more. When I look at her success from the 50,000-ft. view and see everything that Priyanka has already done, is currently doing and has the desire and the bandwidth to do, I can see that her impact is going to be invaluable.
Barack Obama “Public servant” by Jennifer Pinckney
At one point during my husband’s funeral service, while watching my daughters, President Obama said to Mrs. Obama, “Look at those girls. Don’t they remind you of ours?” It hit home for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if the thought had crossed his mind: Where would my girls be if something happened to me?
President Obama and my husband were two God-fearing, charismatic black men dedicated to public service and to their wives and two daughters. They were both voices for the voiceless who got up with smiles when they got knocked down. Of course, there were differences. President Obama loves basketball, and Clem was a terrible athlete!
And, of course, my husband wasn’t the President. He might have gone on to be a bishop or a Congressman. Who knows? As President Obama exhorted us, we hold on to him—all of us, even the President, I believe—because through that love, God is with us.
Leonardo DiCaprio “Earth’s leading man” by John Kerry
When I first read how Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass and gnawed on raw bison to transform himself into Hugh Glass, I may have felt a little queasy—but I can’t say I was surprised.
Leo’s talent is limitless, but his secret has always been pretty simple: he’s real. He does his homework. He knows what he’s talking about. That’s how he takes himself back in time 200 years to create an Oscar-winning, bear-brawling, powerhouse performance in The Revenant.
Preparation, authenticity and smarts are at the core of who he is as an artist. But I admire him even more for putting those formidable tools toward becoming such a galvanizing force to protect our planet. Since 1998, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has provided grants to conservation projects in more than 44 countries. He has employed his cinematic skills—in front of the lens and behind it—to make films that document our planet’s plight. He has discussed environmental threats directly with world leaders from Vladimir Putin to Pope Francis. And when I invited him to join the State Department’s first global Our Ocean conference, aimed at building collaboration to protect one of our most critical resources, Leo didn’t just show up—he put up millions of dollars for ocean protection as part of the effort.
Twenty years ago, Leo captured the hearts of millions of moviegoers by declaring, “I’m the king of the world!” Through his work and example, today he’s inspiring many millions more to help save it.